A Nation's Secret: Book 2: Prussia: A Song of Sixpence
by AlucardLovesSteakCakes
Summary: In the past Maria had a lover and a life she wasn't proud of. In present day, she is forced to spill the secrets of her past and, in doing so, shatters the mask she's worn for so long. That gory story somehow manages to land the nations on the very island that was once Prussia's hell. Now they must rely on her skills to survive, lest get eaten by cannibals...or by Maria herself.
1. Sing a song of sixpence

Warnings: Rated M for gore,language and cannibalism. Ocs but there's only a couple.

Disclamier: I don't own Hetalia but I own the plot and Ian

* * *

It was dark, oh so very dark. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear-_oh_ how she could hear them fighting those monstrous creatures beneath the salty waves. Perched on her piece of wood-merely a door-she was powerless to save them.

Her mother.

Her father.

Her big sister.

All lost beneath the water with a slap of fins and red sea foam.

Then it was quiet.

Quiet and dark.

She knew there were other survivors floating somewhere out there in the dark-but none of them were her family. She did not cry. No, she needed to save all the water she could. She was not scared, either. All she felt was a dull ache in her chest and the chill of the wind against her wet clothes. And all of a sudden there was a lurch and she flung into the water. Arms flailing and feet kicking-she shrieked while they bumped against her legs. Then she felt a tug-light but fast. She began hyperventilating and suddenly she was yanked under the water.

She sat up screaming.

Her snowy hair was damp with sweat and her skin was paler than usual,pupils mere pinpricks in a sea of crimson. Her knuckles were white from clutching her sheets in a death grip. She felt ill.

"East! Sister! Are you alright?!" Ludwig suddenly burst through the door-Italy faithfully clinging to his arm.

Sweet girl.

Maria gave a weak smile and wiped tears she didn't know were there,"I'm fine Luddy. Just a nightmare."

"But-"

"_I'm. Fine_."she stressed each word with clenched teeth.

It took Maria another ten minutes to get him to leave and another ten to fix the tangles in her hair. She sighed and ran a trembling hand through white locks. Standing up slowly, she padded softly to her full-lengthen mirror. She lifted the hem of her shirt and examined the ribs that showed slightly.

"I'm losing weight again."

She bit her lip.

"_Dammit_."

* * *

There was a world meeting today, and Maria wasn't going.

Naturally,even though she was no longer a nation, she liked to sneak in and play pranks.

But today she wouldn't go.

She was going to have lunch instead.

She felt around the fridge for the meat she had wrapped in newspaper last week. Taking it out, she smiled sadly at the black and white package.

"Bon Appetit."

* * *

The meeting was taking place in Germany. Now it was going to be taking place in Germany's house. It had been raining so hard that traffic had jammed-so they just decided to have it at the German's house.

"I_ told_ you! I _told_ you that it would rain today! Stupid potato bastard!"

"Lovi! Don't be mean to Germany!"

"Chigi! Let go of the curl tomato bastard!"

"Wow sorella! You look like a tomato!"

"Non. She looks more like this rose of moi!"

"S-Stay away from me! Spain save me dammit!"

"Become one with me, da?"

"N-no thank you, aru."

"I agree with China."

"State your own opinion dammit!"

"Dammit is a bad word, brother."

"Y-yes. Sorry Lichtenstein."

"Indeed, you are quite scary Russia."

"Don't worry man! I'll protect you! Cuz I'm the hero"

"Oh_ do_ be quiet now."

"Yes, listen to Austria or I'll hit you with my frying pan!"

"Hey Norge I heard this awesome joke this weekend and-"

"I don't care."

"Su-san? Did you give Hanatamago a bath?"

"Yes m' w'fe"

"All right you dumkomfs lets just get this over wi-!"

Maria was sitting at the kitchen table with her fork half way to her open mouth. Her eyes were wide and the fork made a clattering sound as it hit the plate. Her mouth opened and closed as she fished for words and came up with none.

Ludwig did it for her.

"M-Mein G-gott! East is t-that a-"

"Yes" she rasped out.

Her lips were painted red with the blood of her food.

Of the heart that lay on her plate.

The nations had mixed reactions.

America: "Oh my God-I think I'm gunna hurl dude!"

England: "I never thought I would agree with you America."

France: "Mon Dieu! Cheri? What are doing?!"

Spain: "A-Amiga?"

Romano: "{}%^**+*^#}][[{+=£|_|!"+\}+~|#£~}#!"

Hungary: "MARIA?!"Austria: "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Denmark: "What the fuck?!"

Norway: "Good God!"

Finland: "OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod !"

Sweden: "!"

Russia: "...huh...that's...interesting..."

Japan: "M-Maria-chan?"

China: "..."

Switzerland: "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Japan! Just without the chan"

Lichtenstein: "}#%#%*^}%}#%*^€^~}\}#*^€+*\]^%|#!...sorry big brother."

Italy: "V-ve? Doitsu?"

Germany: "Maria...what are you doing?"

Maria took a deep, shaky, breath.

She wanted to run.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to cry.

So she did all three.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Maria's scream was blood curdling as she tore at her hair and wailed. Tears coursed down her face as she jerked back from the table and slammed her back in the fridge. She slide down to the floor and let out a stream of whimpers.

"OhGod OhGod OhGod OhGod! Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid! I tried so hard to hide it so why now!? Why why why!? Waaaaahhhh! Wahhhhh!" she sobbing and screamed into her jeans and trembled violently.

Ludwig and the others could only watch as the usually cocky and proud ex-nation seemed to crack in front of them.

Germany took a tentative step forward and crouched down to Prussia level.

"East? Sister? Maria?"

He put a hand on her knee and the reaction was immediate.

She jerked her head up and made a face between fear and eyes were red and puffy from crying and tear tracks marked her paler than usual face. Suddenly she lunged out to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed violently into his shirt.

"I TRIED SO FUCKING HARD TO KEEP IT A SECRET! I DON'T WANT THIS! I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE FUCKING HAPPENING! IT'S A NIGHTMARE! IT'S JUST A DREAM!"

Then she broke off into a series of whimpers, "Go away-it's isn't fair...not fair...n-not fair...I don't want you to hate me..."

Ludwig crouched down and tentatively put a hand on his sister's cheek; she lifted up a shocked tear-stained face.

"I could never hate you, Maria."

* * *

All the nations sat in a circle on the kitchen floor. They had moved the table into the living room and Maria stayed in her fetal position near the refrigerator.

"... I bribe nearby hospitals to give me blood packets and organs that are unusable. There's no way I can possible get out of this one so I might as well just spill it... We were born on a ship, Ludwig. I don't know where we were headed or where we were from-I didn't ask because my parents taught me that children were to be seen, not heard. We're not siblings either-not by blood at least. I spent sixteen years on that ship and you were born on my sixteenth birthday. One day our boat sailed through a chain of islands and it hit a reef. That's when the sharks came. By the hundreds they came and took almost everyone. I survived and so did you and your mother-among others too. The sharks came near my raft eventually and knocked me off, the only reason I survived was because my best friend Ian saved me. He was my only friend..."

* * *

Maria felt the shark yank her under the water by her pant leg-missing her foot by a miracle. She stretched her hands up to the surface and just the tips of her fingers broke the water. She was going to die. She knew it-no one would save her because no one cared she was going to die alone and- a strong calloused hand grabbed her wrist and pulled hard. The shark suddenly let go and she flew out of the water and into a dingy.

She coughed up a bit of water and looked up blearily towards her savior. Ian was a year older than-seventeen just last week. He was a well built boy sporting a height of 6'1-a gaint compared Maria's 5'6. He had tossed light brown hair, matching eyes and sun tanned skin. He was not overly muscular but in no way was he lanky. He was wearing a brown short sleeved tunic, brown stitched trousers that were currents rolled up to his knees. His brown leather clogs were falling apart in exposure to the water. He was wearing an iron cross around his neck.

"Yo Maria! How ya doin?"

She smiled softly and pulled her black cotton trench coat tightly around her. She was shivering in her skin. Her parents had insisted on dressing up that day and made their daughters do the same. She was wearing a lacy white dress with long sleeves that sported ruffles. She had been wearing black dress shoes and white knee high stocks-but those had disappeared beneath the dark waters long ago. She had always been a tomboy and so she had slipped on a pair of dirty white pants she had rolled to her mid-calf. It was cold so she had put on a coat. It did little now.

Maria was the daughter of the captain and Ian was the son of a sailor. While Maria was being tutored in her cabin, Ian was washing the decks and scaling the crow's nest. The only time she could escape her parents to play with her only friend was at night.

Ian frowned, "Are you alright? Did it hurt you bad?"

Maria rung her hair and slipped out of her useless coat, "No, it only snagged my trousers. Good thing I wore them."

Ian grinned and let out a laugh, "You bet!" Silence passed between the two for a moment.

"Thank you for saving me...", her voice was soft and her bangs covered her eyes.

Ian laughed, " Of course I had to save ya! It'd suck if I lost my spittin' contest partner."

He paused and gave a gentle smile, "You're welcome Maria".

A while passed and the boat gave a lurch as it hit the shore.

They blinked and looked at the island behind them.

It was huge.

It was covered in thick dark trees.

It was impossibly quiet save for the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

"I-Ian?"

"Y-Yea?"

"Something doesn't feel right...where are the birds? Or the insects? Or anything, for that matter. It's...it's just so quiet. It's kind of scaring me, Tero. There's something wrong with this island..."

"Aye...something's going on...and I don't like it..."

Suddenly a shriek sent the pair into a panic and try instinctively hide below the rim.

Ian slowly peaked over the bow and made a gagging noise.

"W-What is it Ian? What's w-wrong?" Maria tried to peak too but was pushed down by Ian, but it was too late. She had already seen it. A man, dressed in a tunic made entirely of leaves, was hacking an old man down with an axe. The old man was apparently one of the survivors that were randomly strewn across the beach-all staring at the same thing in upmost horror.

Then everyone screamed and hell broke loose.

People sprung from the trees and descended upon the unsuspecting. Weapons flash, blood flew, and death filled the air. They had come as silent as the island. No battle cry or rustle of leaves. As the massacre took place Ian and Maria were panicking.

"Oh God," she whispered hoarsely, "Ian what do we do?!"

The boys face was pale,"We need to get out of here." Maria's eyes widened, "Are you crazy?! They just came from the forest! Why would we go there?!"

Ian grabbed the oar and gripped the side with one hand, "Because if we just sit here," he grabbed his companion's clammy hand, "-we'll just end up like them". He jerked his head towards the bloody one sided battle. "You don't want to die, do ya?" Maria trembled with wide eyes, "Of course not!" He focused on the battle, waiting for an opening. "Then on the count of three we run for the trees. 1...2...3!" The pair stumbled across the beach in mad dash to the dark trees. Ian dragged Maria behind him by her wrist with one hand and carried the oar with the other.

They ran through the thick trees like madmen.

Thorns and rocks cut them as they dashed across the dirt.

Blood roared in Maria's ears as she ran. Her only focus was on keeping up with the boy who was holding her wrist so very tightly. Cold sweat mixed with salty ocean spray dripped off her skin like transparent bullets.

A blood curdling screetch filled the air.

Ian and Maria were now running through the trees alongside a low depression.

Two men were hunched over a corpse. Maria felt sick when she realized what they were doing. Abandoning all reason she yanked her hand from Ian's grasp and retched into a bush. Strong hands shook her, "Maria! Get a hold of yourself!", her friend whispered frantically.

But Maria couldn't move-couldn't tear her eyes from the disgusting spectacle.

"T-They're eating her..." her voice was raw from bile and thirst.

Ian crouched beside his friend and took her hand in his, "Maria...these people must be cannibals. We need to get out of here as fast as we can, we have to-"

A baby cried.

Maria jumped up from her position in the bushes with horror plastered on her pallid face while Ian tried futiley to drag her away, but she didn't budge.

A baby lay in the dirt a few meters away from what was probably his mother's corpse wraped in a sky blue fabric.

"Maria! We need to go!Now!"

"...but it'll die..."

"We can't do anything about it Maria!"

"Yes we can..."

"Don't be stupid Maria! What chance could you have against those monsters?!"

She turned furiously towards her partner, "A better chance than a baby, Ian! We have to save it!"

"Are you mad? You'll die!"

"At least I'll die doing the right thing."

And she grabbed the oar.

* * *

Do you love it? Hate it? Just don't care? Please critic this! I'm desperate for criticism!


	2. A pocket full of rye

Disclaimer: I only own Ian!Maria in this story is more of my character (personality/appearance/over all character) than female Prussia so she is technically mine...

**IMPORTANT: I am writing an actual BOOK which I am going to PUBLISH SOON with this plot section in mind-this story/fanfic(idea) IS MINE! You CANNOT steal my characters nor the idea of this SPECIFIC island (the cannibal idea has been done before so it doesn't really matter)**

**PS: I changed the names of the characters so no one could steal them**

* * *

She cracked the man's head open like an egg.

Brains and blood sprayed all over her face and some of it got in her mouth.

The man hit the ground with a sickening thud. He had been the only one who had turned from the woman's carcass to prey on the baby.

Maria looked at her hands and the oar she was gripping so tightly.

Both were drenched with blood.

Her knees buckled and she sunk to the floor in shock.

She heard the baby's distressed wail and looked up blearily.

Suddenly she heard Ian shout her name as he bashed in the head of the man she hadn't even seen lunge at her.

More blood spattered her face and dress and she turned her head up to look at her savior.

The blood that was dripping from his face made him look demonic.

But he was still her Ian.

"Maria!"

The blood roared in her ears, the world was spinning, and Ian's voice seemed fuzzy and faraway.

_What have I done?_

Ian shook her.

"Wha-?"

"Wake up, Maria! Now ain't the time to be in shock! Grab the baby and let's get outta here!"

"R-Right..."

* * *

"What should we name him?"

"What?"

The two friends were nestled in a small crevice they had found in a rock wall not too far from where they had found the baby. They had decided to crawl in as far as they could after wiping away their footprints and covering the mouth the "cave" with branches and leaves.

"How about Samuel?"

"Maria, that was my father's name and there is _no way in hell _we are naming _anyone _after that drunk.

"...Kyle?"

"No. Jack?"

"Ew. Miles?"

"Wasn't that the name of the weird kid on the third deck?"

"...Fine..."

"How about Arthur?"

"Too stuffy."

"Juan?"

"Too...it sounds like a stalker's name"

"Damn...uh, what about...um...Cole?"

"No...what about Ludwig?"

"Ludwig?"

"Yeah, it was my dad's name..."

"...Ludwig it is."

* * *

"...That was _me?" _

All the nations were sitting on the floor of the kitchen around Maria who stayed near the refrigerator. Germany looked at his sister in shock. Her eyes looked dull and her hair was sticking out in odd places from how her fingers were tangled in it.

He never could have imagined that Maria's past was like that.

"Yes, that was you..."

Felicia Vargas, personification of Northern Italy, piped up, "What happened next?"

"...what happened next? Well...we got hungry..."

* * *

"I don't feel so good, Ian..."

"Me neither."

"My stomach hurts...I didn't eat dinner...what time is it...?"

"Probably around three in the morning-I didn't eat dinner either..."

"...is there any fruit on this island?"

"Didn't see any...maybe we could catch some animals..."

"Ew...but I didn't see any animals, either."

"You're right-I didn't see anything edible at all...but you know...you just killed a man and you think that eating an animal is gross?"

At that, maria flung herself at him in a rage.

"It's not-it's not my fault! I couldn't just let him kill Ludwig! He was defenseless and-and-"

Ian looked up at his friend in shock to see tears dripping down her face. He lifted a calloused hand to her cheek and thumbed away the tears from her brown eyes.

Her hair was a golden color and her eyes were deep chocolate pools of sorrow. She prided herself on hair, she brushed it a hundred times everyday and she would get Ian to braid it for her sometimes. They were the best of friends. They were inseperable.

She whimpered and buried her face into his worn shirt. He just stroked her hair in silence.

The friends feel asleep like that-Maria lying on Ian's chest while they lay on the cold stone floor, Ludwig fast asleep beside them. Ian had yet to removed his arms from their protective hold around her waist.

* * *

"You had blonde hair? I can't see you as a blonde..." Spain ruffled Lovina's hair in thought, to which she swatted his hand away with an angry blush.

"So how'd you get you're...you know..." Francis jestured to Maria's hair and eyes.

She smiled sadly, "My hair turned white the next morning from shock-how it turned white so fast I have no idea, it just did. And as for my eyes turning red..."

* * *

Ian and Maria sat hudled in their little cave with Ludwig pressed protectively to the girl's chest.

Outside they could hear screams.

Screams of the survivors of the shipwreck.

Screams of their friends.

Maria sobbed into Ian's shoulder while he shushed her gently. He was scared too-not that he'd admit it, obviously, his pride as a man prevented him from doing so. He also had to make Maria feel safe-her hair had already gone white from shock, he didn't need her to have a mental breakdown as well. She had actually taken it surprisingly well-but that was probably because they were on an island filled with cannibals and her hair turning white wasn't the worst of their problems.

Besides, he thought she looked prettier with white hair...

Suddenly a scream sounded close...

Very close.

Maria immediately stopped crying and froze in terror. Her breaths were quick and he saw that her eyes were wide and terrified. He squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring yet wobbling smile.

The screams got louder and then suddenly...they stopped...

And then the pair heard a sound so much more terrifying...

A sound so horrific that Maria actually choked on her tears...

A sound that resembled the ripping and tearing of flesh...

* * *

She suddenly grew quiet and for a moment she looked like she was asleep. Ludwig was going to shake her, before red eyes snapped open and she continued.

* * *

The sight was worse than the sound.

The man was dressed in a brown tattered vest and white pants rolled up to his thighs.

He was a passenger from the ship.

And he was eating a man.

Maria paled.

"T-That's Miles...oh God!" she quickly turned her head away from the gruesome scene and scuttled over to Ludwig-then crawled even futhered back into the cave with a whimper. Ian watched in sympathetic silence as his companion cowared against the wall with the infant clutched desperately to her breast._...like a mother..._

Thankfully Miles was far enough away not to notice the cave-and even if he did, he wouldn't realize anything was amiss because of the branches so expertley concealing the entrance in a subtle manner.

Miles ontinued eating.

Ian continued watching.

He inspected the newbie-cannibal with critical brown eyes. _What a coward...one day without food and he's already killing and eating people...why would he change so quickly? Why wouldn't he just go after animals-_

Ian's eyes widened as he remembered what they had said the night before.

_Oh God...there **is** nothing else to eat on this island...that would explain everything that's happened so far...but why wouldn't the island have any animals? At least insects should be here-but I haven't seen a **worm** let alone a lizard...that would explain why it's so quiet...the cannibals-no, the **people** here don't want to let anyone know that they're hunting...so they don't get hunted themselves...but the screams...the screams will attract others...this is **bad**, this is very bad..._

He looked back at Maria and clenched his jaw.

_I can't just let her die here...not here in this cave-**no** I can't let her die **period**. I won't lose my only friend..._

* * *

"What happened next...?"

Austria watched her eyes begin to dull and she bit her lip-still stained red from the blood.

"I told you before didn't I? We got hungry..."

* * *

It had beeen quick.

He had done it quickly, before Maria could stop him or Miles could scream.

Maria...Miles...

Miles lay dead in the dirt, a puddle of blood pooling under his smashed open head. Ian had grabbed the oar they had brought with them to the cave and smashed his head open. He panted and lowered his weapon.

Strangely, he wasn't scared or filled with regret.

Instead...

He felt sadistic satisfaction...

And that scared him more than anything else.

* * *

Ludwig searched his sister's face for signs of an emotion besides emptiness. Maria had taken to staring into space with dull eyes as she continued her tale. Her voice was monotone and she blinked sparingly. He noted that overall she didn't seemed quite 'there'. He assumed she was thrown back in time and that this was very hard for her. He instantly grew angry with himself, _of course it's hard for her, you idiot. She's talking about probably the most depressing thing I've heard in a while...though it might just be because it's Maria...She'll probably get to it later, but I can't help but wonder what happened to Ian. I mean, if I'm here and she's here, he should be here too. She never said he died, but..._

* * *

He had always thought that Maria was pretty.

No, _beautiful._

Back when she had had long golden hair that she french braided and her glittering pools of earth, she had been beautiful.

Now with her matted white hair, tear stained face, and ripped and blood clothes as she knelt on the muddy ground, she was _gorgeous._

She was like a fallen angel, he thought to himself as she clung to his leg desperately. Leaving Ludwig in the safety of the cave, Maria had rushed out and practically glued herself to Ian's leg. She was crying as quietly as she could because she knew, because they both knew, that something might hear them.

"S-Stop this, Ian. T-This isn't like you. J-Just c-come back into the cave. Please, Ian I'm begging you. Don't do this."

He opened his mouth to ask what she was talking about when he suddenly realized that he wasn't standing, but was kneeling over something. Over someone. His fingers were tangled in the mangled flesh of Miles' chest as his nails tore at the bloody skin.

He jerked back with a choke and fell on his arse. Maria was at his side in an instant, crawling on her knees in the mud that was growing ever wetter due to the steady rain that was beginning to fall. She gently ran a muddy hand through his hair as he trembled wide eyed and staring at the corpse in front on him. He gripped Maria's arm with his bloody hands.

"Oh God, Maria...I can feel it...I'm losing my mind..."

* * *

**Review!**

**PLEASE read and review! I'm DYING for critisism!**


	3. Four and twenty blackbirds

**Disclaimer: I only own Ian and KINDA Maria**

Thanks so much for the reviews...wish there were more though...wanna know if anyone likes this story and wants me to continue...it IS the sequel to The Four Faces of America...

* * *

Maria cried silently as her companion slept soundly beside her. She was beyond terrified. She had seen him with that maniacal grin on his face as he ripped into Miles. She wasn't an idiot. She knew what he was trying to do. About to do.

She looked over at her best friend's face and gave a quivering smile. She had been crying so much lately that her head was starting to hurt. Her stomach felt like it was on fire, too. She knew she had to eat soon, before her stomach started eating itself.

But eat what? People? She felt her gorge rise and she desperately tried to quash the tingling in her chest. She buried her dread under mountains of concern for Ian's health. _Would he try it again? Would he actual eat someone? No, this is Ian-he's not like that..._

There was a flash of black outside the cave. It had stopped raining by then and Maria peeked through the brush that concealed the entrance.

Birds.

Her eyes widened.

_Food_!

She quickly shook Ian awake and desperately ignored the fact that his eyes were feverish. She didn't need anything else to worry about.

"What is it, Maria?"

"Look! Birds!"

"What!"

She dodged his scurrying form as he bolted to the mouth of their shelter. "Wow," he peered through the leaves with a gasp, "There's so many of them."

Maria blinked, "There was only one when I looked."

"Well there's definetly more than one now, check it out."

And she did.

And Ian was right.

Six football-sized birds that resembled vultures but werent, were crowded around Miles' corpse. Their squaks made Maria shiver and she looked over to her friend only to have her blood run cold.

He was licking his lips.

And grinning maniacly.

But then he frowned.

"There's not nearly enough for all of us...they're too small...and they look wierd. They look...sick. We should be careful-"

Suddenly three boys around their age expolded from the trees and descended on the birds in a flurry of black feathers and knives.

Most of the birds escaped, but each boy triumphantly held a mangled bird in his hand.

"Great, let's eat!"

"B-But, Terrance! Here? Are you sure it's safe?"

"We have no base camp, John. Where else?"

"O-Okay."

Maria and Ian watched as the three boys tore into the birds, feather's and all.

And all seemed fine until Terrance puked up blood.

"Terrance!"

"Terrance, what's wrong?!"

He writhed and moaned on the ground as he clutched at his stomach, and suddenly he lay still.

"H-He's dead! Oh God he's dead!"

"What happened?! Are the birds poisonous or something?"

"But we ate them and we're just fine!"

"Well what's the difference! Oh God! I know! It's because he ate that man earlier! We refused to eat it-but he did it anyway! I guess if you eat something other than people once you start, you die! You can't stop once you start or you die!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"But it makes sense, doesn't it?! Remember, the second he started eating him his eyes turned red? That's a sign! That's a sign that you're a cannible! It's a sign that you're one of _them!"_

"Shit! We gotta get outta here before someone kills us!"

"But we can't just leave-"

"We can and we will, come on!"

The boys stumbled back into the darkness of the dawn, leaving their friend behind in the mud.

* * *

"So is that why your eyes are red? Because you ate someone."

"..."

* * *

"Ian, the birds will be back soon. We should just eat them-ack!"

Ian had slammed her into the wall by her throat.

"There aren't enough for all three of us! And besides, the brains will be the only thing soft enough for Ludwig to eat. The meat won't hold us...it won't be enough."

Maria looked up to her friend with frightful eyes.

_No. No, don't say it. You can't do this. You can't eave me alone._

"Maria I think we should eat Miles and Terrance."

* * *

Maria looked like she was going to throw up, and Ludwig felt an overwhelming rush of pity.

_God, we should have just had the meeting somewhere else. We shouldn't have asked her to explain...who am I kidding? Of course we would've ask, she was eating a heart for God's sake! But...this is just cruel. She's practically breaking apart, and here we are asking questions and making her relive the darkest days of her life...we're horrible..._

* * *

Maria gagged and pushed him away, "Are you crazy?! We can't eat them!"

A sharp hollow sound and a stingy pain and it took her a moment to register that Ian had slapped her.

"Look around you, Maria! What do ya see?! Nothing! Nothing at all! No food and barely any water! The buzzard'll only feed one of us! Who will it be, huh?! Huh?! Will it be Ludwig?! Or will you be selfish and make it you?! I'm willing to give up my humanity to save him! You're the one who wanted to save him in the first place- and yet you're willing to leave him stranded in a life without a future? Bullshit! Don't be an idiot Maria! It's too late for us! We last more than a few days without food and Ludwig won't even last one! The only thing we can do at this point is live long enough to find Ludwig a way off the island so he can live a normal life! We're teenagers, Maria! We'll probably be old by the time we figure out a way to escape this place-if we even live that long? We'll probably be killed and eaten within a year, anyway! But we can try, Maria! We can try for Ludwig and we can try for each other! I promised I wouldn't leave you and I intend to keep that promise! But you have to do the same! You have to live for me and Ludwig-Godammit Maria you have to live for me!"

He roughly grabbed her by the hair and yanked her outside and began dragging her through the mud towards the two rotting bodies.

"No! No! Let me go Ian! Stop it! Let me go! This is isn't like you! STOP IT!"

He dropped her next to Terrance while he took the knife from Miles' pocket and, without a moment's hesitation, plunged it into the boy's chest.

Maria openly sobbed, not caring who heard, as she watched her friend rip open the boy's chest.

_This isn't happening._

_I'm just having a nightmare._

_Any second I'm going to wake up and Mama will call me for breakfast._

_I'm on the ship and tonight I'll tell Ian about my nightmare and we'll laugh about it._

_We'll laugh about it..._

_Laugh about it..._

She could only stare in horror, mouth agape and eyes wide, as Ian tore out Mile's heart. The organ was purplish and looked so different from what she saw in her textbooks.

Suddenly Ian sunk his teeth into the stinking flesh and Maria let loose a scream.

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	4. Baked in a pie

**Disclaimer: I only own Ian and Maria(in a way)**

* * *

"M~a~r~i~a~!"

Ian drew out her name in a sing song voice, chilling her to the core. His eyes were red and his lips and chin were dripping crimson, "C'mon Maria, it's delicious! You'll feel a lot better after you try some! Here!" He held out the bloody heart in a soaked and dripping red hand.

Maria shrieked and desperately tried to crawl away, only to have a stong hand grab her ankle and drag her back through the mud.

Ian was seventeen-almost a man. He was infinetly stronger than her slender sixteen year old body. He was used to pulling ropes and scaling poles. He swabbed the deck and did the heavy lifting that older sailors were unable to do.

He easily overpowered her and straddled her waist. She lay beneathe him in a wide-eyed, mud soaked, trembling mess. Looking up at her attacker, she was met with a maniacle grin.

"If you won't eat, I'll have to do it for you."

Ian took a huge bite of heart and leaned down.

And kissed her.

As he force fed her, all she could do was thrash and scream muffled screams beneathe him.

His tongue pushed the flesh down her throat and her traitorous body forced her to swallow. She gagged at the disgusting taste and suddenly stopped struggling.

Her hunger was gone.

And was replaced by a sort of twisted lust.

A lust for flesh.

In a miraculous feat of strength, the threw Ian off her and scrambled toward's Terrance corpse.

In an instant, she used her teeth to tear into the body.

* * *

Ian woke up with a headache and an empty stomach. Groaning he sat up slowly only to be overcome by a wave of nausea. He clutched his head and blearily took in his surroundings. He was in the cave. And Maria was sitting across from him.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Her smile was bright and kind.

"How long was I out?"

Maria frowned and looked away, "About two days."His eyes blew wide, "What?!" She shot him a panicked look and he immediately quieted, "What?" he whispered. "Yeah, two days. You must have gotten it worse than me..." He noted that her eyes grew dark as she trailed off. He furrowed his brows, "What are you talking about?" She looked up at him in confusion with a hint of fear in her voice, "You...don't remember?"

And then he did.

The screaming.

The crying.

The blood.

The heart.

Maria.

Slapping Maria.

Choking Maria.

Pinning Maria.

Force-feeding Maria.

Hurting Maria...

"Here." Ian sat soundlessly as Maria held out a slab of meat to took a bite, already knowing what it was."Good, isn't it." Maria was already eating her share."Yeah..it is..."Ian suddenly dropped the food and buried his face in his hands, gripping his hair violently."And that's the worst part! I should be disgusted-horrified!...but I'm not...it's good! It actually tastes good! Oh God Maria! I should never-I should never have done that to you! Making you do something you didn't want to do...you told me to stop, but I...and I hit you! I actually hit you! And I forced you to eat Miles! I forced you to choose this life-" Maria gently pried his hands from his face, revealing his tear stained face. She gave a gentle smile and thumbed away his tears.

"Hush, Ian. I...I forgive you. You didn't know what you were doing. Aparently this island makes you go crazy. The island makes you _want _to eat other people. I...I felt it too...in the beginning...but I didn't tell you because I didn't want to freak you out...You were just doing what your instincts told you to do...you were possessed...you weren't yourself...So I forgive you. You passed out after I finished eating, so I dragged you back here. You had a fever...don't know why though...I got my senses back after I ate-so I think that eating people is the only way to keep you sane once you start-and eating anything else will kill you..."

Ian realized that their faces were inches apart now. He gulped and felt heat rise to his face. He had always had a crush on her, but he didn't dare risk ruining their relationship. She was kind, beautiful, intelligent, free-spirited, and she _cared _about him. He never had a good relationship with his father, and his mother died giving birth to him. The other kids on the ship stayed away from him because he was of lower status than him. But then, one day, Maria-the kid on the ship with the highest rank of all, reached out to him in an offer of friendship.

They had always had only each other. They played together. They laughed together. They were inseperable. They taught each other new things everyday and were never without the other's company.

His eyes darted to her full parted lips. They were chapped from the ocean sea and the wind that chilled the air. Her face was smeared in blood and dirt, and her clothes were torn in patches. Her hair stuck every which way and he was pretty sure that that was a twig behind her ear.

And yet he though she was still beautiful.

But she wasn't perfect. She was a greedy girl-one thing was never enough. She tended to snort when she laughed. She snored slightly. She had massive scarring on her inner right thigh from when she slipped off the railing and into a dingy when she was five. Her hair was her pride and joy, and she boasted about it often. She loved material things. She was vain and arrogant. She was a major tomboy and lacked the grace and feminine attitude that her parent's desperately wanted her to possess.

But he loved those things about her.

So he kissed her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist so his hands rested on her lower back and probed her mouth with his tongue, seeking entrance that she readily gave. She slowly slid her arms around his neck as they broke from the kiss. They kept their eyes closed and just rested their foreheads together and breathed in each other's presence.

There hadn't been a spark like she had read about in fairy tales. It had been clumsy and awkward and tasted like meat. But she smiled happily and rested her head on his chest. And the two of them stayed like that, Ian with Maria resting on his lap-Ludwig sleeping soundly beside them.

* * *

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	5. And when the pie was opened

**Disclaimer**: I only own Ian and Maria and the Island...and the Bonepickers...and the Silents...and the Innocents..._It_...that's about it.

* * *

Five weeks and two days.

That's how long they had dodged death.

And how long they had done their best to take care of Ludwig.

"...that's not how you change a diaper, Ian..."

Maria giggled as she watch Ian struggle with tying the newly cleaned (in a nearby stream) diaper onto the wriggling baby. Maria thought that the way his face was scrunched up in concentration and how his tongue stuck out from the corner of his mouth was adorable. She voiced her opinion.

"S-Shut up! You try doing this!"

"Nah, I prefer watching you struggle."

"...You're a cruel, cruel woman...

"You know you love it."

Maria bit her lip when Ian didn't respond. He had yet to say 'I love you' and it was starting to piss her off. Then again, she hadn't said it either...but that was beside the point.

Noticing that things were getting awkward, Ian quickly handed Maria a bowl of water. Though the bowl was the top of a skull, Maria still drank frantically.

"Knew you were thirsty."

* * *

Maria held the bottle of beer to her lips.

"Maria, can you just continue the story at a point that's actually, I don't know, _important._"

His sister frowned and blew him a rasberry.

* * *

"Let's give'em a name..."

"Hrm?"

"Ian take that bone out of your mouth and help me think of a name for those birds."

"...Feather Brains?"

"...are you just saying that because that's what we feed Ludwig, or because they're so damn stupid?"

"Both."

"Ugh, how about..."

Ian once again went about gnawing at the bone.

"How about Bonepickers?"

Ian stopped, "That...makes sense. But why put the two words together?"

Maria shrugged, "I'm bored."

* * *

"_Maria._.."

"Sheesh, sorry sorry."

* * *

"It's hurts, I-Ian!"

"I know I know! Just-Just stay still and let me pull it out!"

Maria bit the cloth as hard as she could while Ian gave a swift yank at the stone dagger that was imbedded in her left thigh. He quickly tied a strip from his shirt around the wound tightly in order to stem the bleeding. He looked up briefly at his girlfriend's face, it was so pale and he could see beads of sweat forming on her skin. He grit his teeth and let out a curse.

_If only I had watched her back like I was supposed to, this wouldn't have happened!_

"Stop blaming yourself, Ian."

He looked up at his best friend with glassy eyes.

"Don't give me that look. I've known you long enough to know what you're thinking. It's not your fault. How could you have known that she was going to fall out of a tree to attack me? We'll just remember to look up from now on."

"Silents."

"What?"

"Us. Them. We should call ourselves, what we've become, Silents."

"That right...because we never make any sound when we hunt..."

* * *

Ludwig couldn't help but shiver at the word 'hunt'. It sent a chill down his spine, and he was sure the others felt the same.

* * *

"What about Ludwig?"

"Hm?"

"Maria, what should we call what Ludwig is?

"...an Innocent."

"And this island?'

"...the Island."

"And..._It_?"

Maria knew what _It_ was without even having him describe it.

"...Famine."

"...Can you give me a name that's a little, I don't know, creative?"

"Nope. I don't feel like it. I was stabbed in the leg, remember? I currently possess the mind of a retarded puppy."

* * *

"What's Famine?"

Maria's lip became a fine line.

"It's the feeling of insanity you get when you're hungry."

* * *

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	6. The birds began to sing

Disclaimer: I only own Ian and Maria-personality wise

* * *

She was scared.

So very, very scared.

Where was Ian?

He was supposed to be back over three hours ago...

Was he dead?

NO!

Not Ian.

Not her Ian...

Who would help her hunt?

Who would raise Ludwig with her?

Who would hug her at night when the screams kept her awake?

Who would dry her tears?

Who would drive away the ghosts and fears?

Who would kiss her?

Who would be her friend?

Who would-"Sorry Maria! I had ta take a detour cuz' a gang of Silents were blockin' the usual path."

Maria let loose the breath she had forgot she had been holding.

Ian's hair had grown out slightly and she could see the beggings of stubble on his usually clean face.

They took clothes, weapons, and food from their prey, and they had found the perfect knife for shaving about a week ago. They'd have to use it soon before Ian grew a beard. She didn't like beards...they were itchy...

* * *

"For the love of God, Amiga! You must get to the point! I'm hungry and I think I left my front door unlocked!"

Lovina stared at her 'friend'.

"What the hell...you...I've never seen you mad before..."

Antonio saw something spark in her eyes that almost scared him.

"That's so _hot_."

* * *

Uhhh...okay...Ian and Maria had been on the Island for a year and had just celebrated Ludwig's first birthday. Even though there wasn't a cake or presents, they did the best they could for the bubbly baby.

Maria called Ludwig her little brother, but Ian knew better.

He knew she thought of him as her son.

And he did too.

They had said 'I love you' finally about three months after the wreck and they were happy.

Well, in a way.

Ian had been thinking a lot lately about 'them'.

And children.

They already considered Ludwig their child, but there's a difference between a child you adopt and a child that shares your blood...

If he could, he would propose to her. But obviously, since they were on an island with no form of church or community in general, that was impossible. At least, it wouldn't be official...but what about if they got married unofficially? He could propose to her and if she said yes they could consider themselves married. But would Maria say yes? It wasn't like they could break up and find someone else, afterall there was no one else but themselves. He loved Maria, he was sure of that. Maria constantly said she loved him, too. But did that mean she would want to marry him?

But back to the topic of children. He knew deep down that she would refuse. He knew that she wouldn't want to bring another child into the Hell that was the Island.

He knew that.

He knew that all too well.

* * *

Ludwig felt like crying.

_Maria thinks of me as her son?_

_I've never had a mother..._

* * *

Maria had said yes.

Maria had said yes to his proposal.

Maria was his wife...

His wife...

Forever his beautiful Maria...

* * *

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	7. Wasn't that a dainty dish

Disclaimer: Check previous chapters because I'm too lazy today

**Warning**: language, gore, disturbing images

* * *

Maria hung from her ankles from an extremely high tree. Hair hair, usually in a ponytail when she went hunting, was up in a tight bun held together by a thin bone. Two and a half years on The Island had given her agility and stamina, the things that allowed her to hand from a thirty foot tree by her ankles that she had hooked into gaps in the gnarled branches. She had positioned herself near the trunk and her sight was trained in on her prey. A rugged man in his mid thirties was sleeping against the peeling bark of the old tree, dangerously unaware of the monster that dangled not fifteen feet above. Her head was but two arms lengths away from his curly red hair, so close that she could see the sweat trickled down hairy arms. The dawn air was stale and damp and Maria licked the salty sweat dripping from her chin.

Ian was back in the cave playing with Ludwig. Maria had made a doll from Bonepicker feathers and cloth. It was Ludwig's second birthday. She knew he deserved better. Both a better present, and a better life.

But that was all they could give him, so that was all they could do.

Silent as death, Maria knocked an arrow to her makeshift bow she had fastened the night before. Two ribs tied together end to end by blanched large intestinal ropes, the tethered ribs mimicking an elongated "W". The bow string was a taut rope of small intestine; the whole structure was around two and a half feet long. Her arrows were sharpened sticks. On her back was a carefully tethered cluster of arrows that were tied to a leather strap she wore like a sash. At her hip she had her trusty knife that she had pilfered from a corpse last year that was made of steel. A femur bone was also tied to her back which she used as a club.

She let the arrow fly down at her prey's head with as much sound as a flying owl. The arrow swiftly entered the top of the man's skull and buried itself deep into his brain. The man didn't even had time to wake up.

Maria made quick work of her kill and used her knife to meticulously cut off the arms and legs which she placed into the brown satchel at her hip. She sliced off the head and left the torso resting against the trunk in order to attract Bonepickers. She would return later to shoot some for Ludwig.

She held the head by the greasy blood soaked hair and made no move to remove the arrow from it's place. She had been stalking her prey for the past two hours, waiting patiently for him to fall asleep, and already knew there was nothing of value to pilfer from his pockets.

She let the blood drip onto the path behind her, marking her trail. She walked so lightly that the ground bore naught a single print. She was headed towards the river that was near their cave and was going to throw it in. It had become a tradition that they never ate their victim's heads, rather, throw it into the churning water as a sort of tribute/apology. She wasn't worried about being followed because of the blood trail. In the few years that she and Ian had lived on The Island they had already developed an infamous reputation. They reffered to the pair as Nightwalkers and avoided them like the plauge. Of course, this didn't necessarily mean that she and Ian had any trouble locating them.

Until now.

For the past couple months, Maria had begun to notice something that bothered her.

Their prey was becoming scarce.

Which only meant one thing.

She and Ian were slowly wipeing out the entire island's inhabitants.

Which left them with another problem.

Food.

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	8. To set before the king?

**Disclaimer**: I only own Maria and Ian and the plot (and everything about and on The Island) -Prussia is Himaruya's but her personality and former appearance is so different from his design and more like my original character from the book I'm publishing (the character looks exactly like the female version of Prussia, which was why I decided to use this anime/manga as the basis for a spinoff)

**Warning:** Fluff and smelly clothes

* * *

Maria let out a ragged gasp as the hands crushed her windpipe. She gagged when her throat closed and bloody drool trickled from her open mouth. She dug her heels, her only shoes being wrapped cloth (stolen a few days after the ship wreck), into the dirt but was unable to find purchase on the seemingly always muddy ground. She felt the wet sludge soak her clothes and the smell of rotting flesh and body odor permeated her senses. Her eyes, on the verge of rolling back in their sockets, looked up blearily at the eternally stormy skies. She briefly wondered if she would go to heaven when she died, only to remind herself that God would probably never let her enter those gates of peace after what she'd done.

But she just _couldn't_ die.

She'd be leaving behind too much.

She'd be leaving the two people in her hell of a life that gave her joy.

The only people that she held close to her surely rotten heart.

She felt something in her neck suddenly snap and let out a gurgled shriek as her collarbone shattered.

Her attacker was a man in his fifties with missing, dirty teeth and graying greasy hair. He was clothed in what could only be rags that smelled ripe and rancid. His breath was foul and potent even though he wasn't even close to her face. His legs lacked muscle but they still managed to pin her to the ground as he straddled her. Wild crimson eyes were predatory and crazed. It wasn't normal.

_He has to be affected by the Famine...the scarcity of food is driving everyone nuts._

Just as black spots began dancing in front of her eyes the man suddenly let go of his hold on her throat and slumped sideways. She let out a strangled gasp for air and felt the familiar warm spray of blood on her face.

It tasted heavenly and took away some of the fog clouding her mind.

"Maria! Maria are you okay?!"

She could sense that someone was bending over her and inspecting her injuries. Calloused hands, so familiar and yet still sent chills down her spine, brushed her bangs from her eyes.

"I'm going to pick you up now, alright? Bear with me, I'll make it as quick and painless as possible."

She shut her eyes and allowed her lover to scoop her into his arms bridal style. She let out a choked gasp at the pain that shot through her chest and felt something wet trickle down her nose.

"Shhh...I'm going to fix you up as good as new. Trust me, everything's going to be okay."

She immediately relaxed when he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

_Ahhh...he's too good to me..._

The trip back to the cave was faster than she expected. She took note that Ian was making sure to not jostle her or walk in a way that would move her head from it's rest in the crook of his arm.

_Too good...too kind..._

She was set down on the relatively large 'bed' that they had constructed out of numerous clothes stitched together and stuffed with Bonepicker feathers. It was plush and she smiled as the smell that was distinctly Ian wafted up from the identically made pillow. He pulled up the stitched sheets and pressed a kiss to her forehead once more.

"I'll be right back, I'm just going to get some water to clean you up. I'll tuck Ludwig in with you, okay?"

She didn't want to open her eyes.

It was just too good to be true.

A perfect hellish dream.

The small hands of her 'brother' found her own and held it tightly. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards and soon she was smiling brightly. She felt so at home then.

_My twisted, twisted, beautiful home._

They had found a much larger cave the year before and were able to stand up in it. Finally no more cramping legs and stiff backs.

A cold rag washed away the blood from her face and gingerly patted at the area around her nose.

_Must be broken..._

Ian pushed down the sheets a little more and carefully unbuttoned the white blouse that they had taken just the week earlier from an unfortunate female victim. He gently wiped away the sweat and he dabbed medicinal herbs onto the wounds and scrapes. He stripped her down completely and cleaned her throughly.

She giggled as the rag tickled her bellybutton and cracked an eye open. Ian was laughing too and she marveled at the brightness of his teeth.

_He's so handsome...and so mine..._

He pressed a closed kiss to her lips and redressed her in new 'clean' clothes. She sighed in bliss when he slipped into the sheets beside her and held her close. Ludwig wriggled up between them and soon was fast asleep. The two year old was so precious to them, they couldn't imagine life without him.

Without each other.

* * *

Read and review! Thank you all for you who commented and those who clicked on this story! Love you all! See you next time!


	9. The king was in his counting house

Thanks to all who've reviewed

Disclaimer: Not mine. Mine. Yada yada blah blah blah

Theme Songs...because I can **_I HIGHLY RECOMMEND LISTENING TO THESE THROUGHOUT THE STORY. ALSO, READ THE LYRICS._**

**Maria: **"All That I'm Living For" by Evanescence

**Ian: **"Until The Day I Die" by Story of the Year

**Entire Story: **"Against The Tide" by Celldweller

* * *

Norway suddenly gripped his head in pain and doubled over with a strangled cry. Denmark immediately went to his friend's (secret lover's) aid, "Are you okay?! Norge!" A green light began to emanate from his form and England immediatly began to panic. "Shit! His magic's malfunctioning!" Norway whimpered, "It already happened twice yesterday...the economy's f-fucking it up*..." Maria reached out to put a hand on his shoulder and England screamed, "MARIA STOP!"

There was the sound of her blood curdling scream then all went black.

* * *

The sand was cold and rough. Broken shells and sharp grains of sand dug into Ludwig's face and hands and made him sneeze. His head was throbbing and he felt as if all the wind was knocked out of him. He took a moment to catch his breath before attempting to sit up.

And immediately wished he hadn't.

Unforgiving dark skies and frozen water lapping at the shores of speckled sand. A solid mass of gnarled trees with branches that reminded him of fingers lined the beach. An endless expanse of black ocean was all he saw when he looked out towards the sea. He couldn't tell where the water met the sky along the invisible horizon. It was quiet.

Save for the other nations' panicking.

Sweden lunged for Norway and yanked him off his feet by his collar. Denmark immediatly punched him and they started exchanging blows right and left while Finland whimpered nervously and Norway gasped to catch his breath.

Hungary was crying in Austria's arms and the Romana was practically sobbing in Spain's. Switzerland comforted his sister. The other nations were in the same state of panic (save for Russia, but then again, he's Russia).

Germany's eyes widened and he whispered furiously, "Shut up! If we make too much noise then we'll attract attention! We can worry about how we ended up here later! Right, Maria?"

Prussia sat on her knees in the sand with her back faing them. Her hair blew around her in the wind and Germany saw that her shoulders were shaking.

And then she started laughing.

Ludwig looked at his sister in horror as she doubled over in a fit of hysterical laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN! PERFECT PUNISHMENT FOR A WRETCH LIKE ME! IT'S FATE! HAHA! IT'S FATE IAN! HAHA!" Her voice shocked the nations into silence.

Suddenly, and without any sound, a woman in rags rushed from the trees towards the nations with what looked like a crude sword of bone and rock. Maria stood up calmly and reached into her pocket, retrieving the pocket knife she always carried with her. With a flick of her wrist the blade imbedded itself in the woman's forehead only a few meters away.

The nations were silent as Maria turned to them stone-faced. Germany noted her sudden change of mood with unease. "If we get to the cave we'll be safe. I don't know if time is the same here, if it is then it's been almost five hundred years, but I'm sure it's still there, back then no one would even come near it." She took Ludwig's hand in her's and he noted that it was cold as ice, "Join hands and follow me. Don't make any noise. Vash-" she motioned to him with dark eyes, "-leave your guns. they'll just make noise and will slow us down. That's goes for the rest of you as well. Just take the bullets." The swiss opened his mouth to protest, only to be silence by a piercing glare. "You have more guns at your house. You'll not miss these." Begrudgingly he, along with the rest of the nations, collected the bullets and left the guns in the sand.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

The trip to the shelter was a terrifying one for the nations. While Maria looked unafraid and almost had a bored look about her, everyone else was trembling and some (like the Italies) were on the very of tears. No matter how many bloody and horrific wars they had been in, the notion that they could be _eaten _at any time awoke a primal and instinctual fear.

Like they were prey.

* * *

Maria had been right; the cave was untouched. Hidden behind a waterfall and draped with hanging vines that concealed the entrance, it was perfectly hidden from sight. The pool was cold and black as night. Foul smelling algae floated on the surface and clung to their clothes. The waterfall drenched them to their bones and the clothes that stuck to their bare skin felt like a chilling hug that offered no consolation nor sympathy.

The stone floor was uneven and pocked with holes that were either filled with dirty water or stuffed with dying plants. The air was stale and smelled suspiciously of rotting things and the only light came from the faint gaps in the vines. Plants hung from the ceiling and dripped with water that collected from the moisture in the air. Maria held out her hand to stop them and dissapeared furthur into the darkness of the cave.

She came back in a flash and handed Ludwig some sticks and flint, "Start a fire and stay quiet."

It was then that Ludwig realized that she was carrying an bundle of what looked like sheets in her arms. Something was clearly wrapped in it and it looked lumpy and fragile.

She caught his gaze.

"Just some things I need to get rid of."

Austria looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, "You're _leaving _us?!" She responded with a wry smile, "Back then no one would come near here because we were famous. Fear is a powerful thing. I'm sure that no matter how much time passed, people are still afraid of me. Ian and I _did _wipe out most of the Island single-handedly. And besides-" Her eyes flickered dangerously as she shot a look over her shoulder,

"I'm hungry...and you wouldn't like me when I'm hungry"

* * *

Heck yeah! Finally things are getting heated! Review! Review! **REVIEW**!

*Norway's economy is actually doing fine (i think) but I needed a reason so just pretend. Norway's economy had to have been bad at least SOME POINT in time!


	10. Counting out his money

Disclaimer: Mine and not mine

THANK YOU FOR ALL WHO VOTED! C WON btw I posted a pic on DA of Maria hunting (delete spaces)

mapelhockey. deviantart #/d5k72la

* * *

She had torn her blue jeans so that they were now a pair of denim shorts and had ripped her plain black T-shirt so that it was now both sleeveless and a (thankfully still tight) tube top. She had left her black combat boots and red socks back in the cave and relished the familiar feeling of dirt beneath her feet.

She inhaled the sweet smell of pungent sap and enjoyed the scrape of branches and thorns on her bare arms and legs as she flew silently across the forrest floor. Her hair was tied back in a high pony tail with a strip of cloth she had torn from her sleeve. Red eyes glittered dangerously as she scan her hellish world for her prey.

She hadn't been lying when she'd said she was hungry, she'd never been able to finish her lunch, after all. For some reason she couldn't go more than six hours without food before feeling that familiar urge creep into her brain and cloud her mind. When she got angry at the other nations she had usually been under it's influence.

She froze when she heard the sound of tearing flesh and gave a wicked grin. Crawling like a crab on all fours with her belly low to the ground, she silently made her way over to a bush. Peering threw the leaves with eager eyes she locked on to her prey.

A man in his twenties was crouched over the corpse of an old man, his hands tearing out ligaments and stuffing them into his bloody maw. Maria smirked, _he's completly oblivous to his surroundings...abandoning his weapon next to that tree over there..._

Looking to her right she spotted a small stone and frowned. Snatching it from the ground, she glared at it for a moment before expertly aiming it at the man's temple and letting it fly.

He fell down like a dead weight and Maria sighed, _I'd rather fight him, but he was too inexpierenced to be any fun..._

Straining her ears for any signs of scavengers, she silently crept from the brush and padded over to her kill. She made quick work of both his clothes and his victim's and made a makeshift bag out of his shirt and stuffed the rest of the clothes inside. She left the shoes, they wouldn't fit her anyway.

Bending down, she grabbed his arm and easily twisted it off. When she got hungry her senses and abilities began advanced. She could only imagine what would happen if she starved herself for a few days. She shuddered and, slinging the bag over her shoulder and gripping the severed arm with her hand, trotted over to the crudely made spear. She scoffed as she examined it,_ a stone tied to some stick with a piece of cloth? He didn't even sharpen the stone or strip the stick, what an idiot...not even worth keeping, useless piece of crap..._

She left the bodies where they were and stomped away in a cloud of disappointment. She would come back when Bonepicker's started to eat. The other's wouldn't feel Famine for a while, anyway.

* * *

_Meanwhile, in the cave..._

"We're all gonna die! We're gonna be eaten alive and our intestines will be ripped out and-OW! Iggy~what was that for?!"

"Stop being such a vulgar git."

"Tea loving prude..."

"Excuse me? I am most certainly not a prude!"

"Are too! You wouldn't even let me kiss you on the Ferris Wheel! At the top! Where no one can see us!"

"Y-you shut y-your mouth!"

"Oh? You're in a relationship with mon Amerique? Honhonhon~"

"Shut up Frog! Dammit Alfred! Look what you did! I wanted to keep our relationship a secret for a reason, you git!"

"It's called the '_Special Relationship'. _It's not really a secret if everyone knows it."

"Ve? Don't we have a special relationship too, Doitsu?"

"I-Itay! No we don't have a s-special relationship!"

"V-ve? W-we d-on't? D-Do you h-hate m-me?"

"N-no! We're friends!"

"Special friends?"

"Yes, Felicia...we are...s-special friends.."

"Ve!"

"Oh no you're not! You get your hands off my sorella you potato bastard! You won't have a 'special' anything!"

"Lovi~Be nice."

"C-Chigi!"

"ENOUGH!"

The nations turned their heads towards the fuming Austrian in shock.

"What part of 'be quiet' did you not understand? Prussia said that yelling will attract those monsters, remember?"

Germany narrowed his eyes dangerously, "You realize that Prussia is one of those 'monsters' right?"

Before the Austria could retort, Lichtenstein's soft voice made itself know, "What do you think happened to Ian?"

That made everyone quiet.

Germany sat back next to Felicia and frowned, "Ja...Ian didn't escape with Maria and me-if he did then I'm sure he'd still be around...and if he stayed on the island then he must have died by now...it's almost five hundred years..."

England pondered for a moment, "Maybe this place is on another time plane, or dimension so to speak..."

"No. It's been about five hundred years."

The nations turned sharply to the mouth of the cave where Maria stood dripping from the waterfall. In her hands was something wrapped in a shirt and a bag was slung over her shoulder. She had torn her jeans into shorts and turned her shirt into a tube top, she was barefoot too. Most of the male nations blushed and avertered their eyes from her wet form. Germany cleared his throat to break the tension, "How do you know?"

Maria walked over to the group and set down the bag in the middle of their lopsided circle, "Because there was a small tree that Ian and I used to climb all the time. Now it's hundreds of feet tall. Trees don't grow that fast in a couple of years."

"H-Hundreds of feet tall?!"

"There are so many trees here that not many of them are cut down for wood. The big ones are left alone."

Hungary nudged the bag neverously with her foot, "A-And what's that?"

Maria averted her eyes and took a few steps back, "Clothes so you can get out of your wet ones. I made sure to keep them dry in the waterfall."

France reached out and pulled out a pair of pants that were covered in faded stains, "Where did you get them?"

Maria didn't answer, "I washed and dried them for you, so don't worry about them being dirty."

"But there are only two outfits here, and you have the second shirt."

"...You'll all be hungry by tonight so I'll go out again and catch some birds for you. But only four or five birds land on a single carcass, and they're very hard to catch-usually you get away with two out of five. That's not enough for all of you, so I'll just have to..."

She didn't have to finish her sentence for them to understand.

Spain smiled nervously, "And what's that in the shirt you're carrying?"

Maria looked at the bundle in her hand with a wry smile.

"Dinner."

* * *

do you guys like it? I've been updating ten times faster than usual! Yay me!


	11. The queen was in her parlor

Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own Hetalia but I own everything else

Also, here are the pairings (mentioned but not the main focus)

RoChu

UsUk (I actually don't like this pairing-I like UkUs a lot more, here's why. UsUk= cute, adorable, squeal worthy...UkUs= nosebleed inducing, sexy, and more likely)

GerFem!Italy

SpainFem!Romano

DenNor

SuFin

and of course, the main pairing

IanMaria

* * *

Twenty-two.

Maria had brought back twenty-two birds and a bundle of clothes for the wet nations. Of course, she had to take trips repeatedly to get it all, but eventually night fell and they were able to hunker down at the fire to eat dinner.

Well, Maria made sure to sit at the entrance of the cave while she ate hers...

Ludwig sighed and leaned against the cold rock wall. France looked up at him with a drumstick in his hand, "What's wrong? Your's not good? Mine is." Germany shook his head, "Nein...it's just that...I _remember _the taste...just wish I could remember something else..." The other nations stopped eating at this and America managed to talk (albeit not well) with his mouth full, "Y'u wn't ta wemember all bvat shit? W'y?" England promptly pushed him over, "What that _git _is _trying_ to say is that you actually want to remember your traumatic childhood? I wouldn't. Hearing those stories was enough to make me nauseous, I don't want to remember actually _living _it."

Ludwig shook his head, "But it's still my _childhood. _And Ian...I just want to know the rest of the story...to what happened to him..."

Finland looked over at Norway who was curled up in a snoring Denmark's arms, "What I want to know is how we got here in the first place. England you said something about his magic malfunctioning...magic is real?"

England looked truly offended, "Of _course __magic is real!_ Where do you think plastic came from?! It's not natural at all!*"

America frowned, "So when you talk to those fairies you're actually talking to _fairies?"_

"Of course I am!"_  
_

"Woah, chill out babe!"

"B-Babe?!"

"How come you and Maria became nations?"

The cave became quiet and England stopped choking America to stare at Russia.

"Yeah, how have you both lived for so long if you're human, aru?"

_"Because_ we probably weren't human to begin with."

They turned to Maria who plopped herself next to Ludwig with the bloody shirt in her arms. She noticed the looks and quickly hid the rag behind her with a look of pure shame on her face. Germany's eyes narrowed and he made a move to clear the awkward tension, "What do you mean?"

He could swear he saw pain flash across her eyes in the light of the fire.

"Well...Sweden, has your black eye gone away yet?"

Berwald was suddenly swarmed by the other nations and they inspected his bruised face in horror.

"No way!"

"Why didn't it go away?!"

"Nation's are supposed to heal immediately!"

"But the Island is special. It turns you human..."

Ludwig looked down at Maria who had moved so that her head was in his lap. She kept her face towards the fire and so he was unable to see her expression.

"This place is horrible and cruel. It's like the island was _designed _to be a twisted form of game. Don't you feel it...don't you feel like you're being watched?"

A shiver ran down his spine.

He felt it too.

* * *

When everyone had finished eating and were just about to fall asleep, Maria stood up from her 'pillow' and went silently into the dark of the back of the cave. She returned shortly after with dozen of stitched blankets and handed them to each nation. America squinted his eyes to peer into the darkness but, even with the faint light from the now dim fire, was unable to see through the black curtain.

"What's back there?"

Germany saw Prussia stop mid step, "...My room..."

America pouted, "Well it's got a bunch of blankets and stuff right? Why can't we just sleep there instead of here in the middle?"

No one was prepared for when Maria wielded around with a wild look in her eyes, "BECAUSE THIS IS MY HOUSE AND WHAT I SAY GOES! IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY RULES THEN YOU CAN JUST GO SLEEP OUTSIDE AND GET EATEN!"

Her furious scream rang throughout the cave in a long, angry, echo.

The nation's were frozen in fear.

There was a pause before she blinked rapidly and suddenly turned around towards the cave mouth in what could only be shame, "I'm sorry...being here...it does something to me...I'm...I'm going to go for a walk...I'll be back by morning."

She left before anyone could say anything.

* * *

"This is so unfair."

Japan blinked blearily as he was woken up by Germany's voice. The nations had gathered into groups for warmth, and the Axis were no exception. Italy had her head in the German's lap and he was petting it softly so as not to wake her. That was unlikely, though, since she could sleep through practically anything.

"What is unfair, Germany-san?"

"...It's obvious that Maria feels ashamed...she thinks we're afraid of her...disgusted...it's just mean considering all that's happened to her...she's still Prussia...still Maria..."

Japan's eyes softened and he uncharacteristically put a comforting hand on Germany's shoulder, "It'll be alright Germany-san. I don't think of Maria any differently. I actually feel honored to hear about her life...we should all feel privelaged that she trusts us enough to share her secrets..."

"Ja, Japan...maybe you're right..."

* * *

* One of the many inside jokes between my friends and me


	12. Eating bread and honey

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia but I own everything else.

**List of Ocs in this story so far**_ (including the ones introduced in this chapter)_

Ian _(obviously)_

Maria_ (kinda)_

Miles _(he died in like four seconds so he's not really important)_

Terrance _(he's important yet he's not REALLy important)_

John _(...I actually forgot who that was...)_

Rachel _(read to find out)_

Buck _(read to find out)_

Fera _(read to find out)_

* * *

Maria kept her promise and returned at dawn. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes puffy, but if anyone noticed they didn't say a word.

The nations had just finished eating the left over birds and America was still sleeping and snoring rather loudly on a disgruntled and fuming brit.

"Get up. I'm moving you to a safer place."

* * *

The nations were all crouched in a series of bushes on the edge of a clearing. They were surprised to see a large throng of people bustling about and cooking birds on multiple fires. There were crudely constructed huts and, to everyone's shock, dogs."The people who've abstained from eating humans apparently have started a tribe of sorts. They had dogs with them when they were stranded, I guess."

England eyed Prussia curiously, "Why can't we just escape the island the way you did?"

"..."

Prussia didn't answer, instead she reached into her pocket and, fishing out a bullet, flug it at a brass pot beside a hut.

The gong-like sound startled both the entire camp and the nations and sent the people into defense mood. The men, women, and even children snatched up weapons and took stances.

A woman with cropped chin-length black hair and silver eyes stepped foward with a snarl. She wore a short black skirt and a white button-down shirt. Her brown sandals were worn and her pale skin was littered in scars. There was a large scar over her left eye, or what was left of it.

"Who's there?! Show yourself cowards!"

Prussia gave Ludwig a nudge before turning tail and fled into the dark woods.

* * *

Her name was Rachel. She had turned twenty last month and had been born, right there, on The Island. She and her older brother Buck lived with what they referred to as the Tribe. It was made up of around four dozen people who refused to give into the Urge(Famine) and became Sinless (Innocents). The Tribe was led by an old woman named Fera, who just happened to be Rachel and Buck's grandmother.

It didn't take the nations long to figure out what kind of person Rachel was. She was violent, rude and incredibly suspicious of them (which Buck quietly explained was due to the fact that their parents had been killed two years previous by Sinners (Silents). Buck, unlike his sister, was kind and somewhat awkward. His hair was black and held back in a high braided ponytail and his eyes were silver like hers.

Fera was an understanding old woman who welcomed them with open arms. She explained that the Tribe was a haven for those recently stranded. On their way there Maria had told them to say that their boat had sunk and that they had swam to shore. Germany worried that they wouldn't buy it because of the unlikelihood that they would have been able to make it without a boat because of the sharks, but they didn't question their story. Except for Rachel, of course.

They were told that the Tribe was well armed and the dogs were trained; traps were around too (Germany momentarily worried for Maria's safety, before realizing that if anyone could get past them it would be her). Buck led them to the back of the clearing where there was a huge rock wall with various caves. He showed them the small dwellings inside and gave them food and told them to rest.

Things were looking good for the nations.

* * *

Things were looking bad for Maria.

She had been observing the Tribe to make sure that Ludwig and the others were safe when she saw something that made her sick to her stomach (which was a rather hard thing to do, at this point). There was a woman in the camp that wasn't supposed to be there. She had managed to sneak unnoticed into the camp and, wearing a hood over her face and eyes, was able to blend into the bustling group without being noticed.

But Maria noticed.

And she didn't like it.

* * *

Huh? Huh? Do you like how it's going so far?

I'm going to work on the oneshot Velcro slowly and I'll post it after the epilogue. This story will have a total of 21 chapters + epilogue + oneshot (proudly named Velcro)


	13. The maid was in the garden

Disclaimer: You know the drill

This chapter is really short because I did it on my Ipad during lunch

Please ignore all errors-spellcheck doesn't work on the Ipad on Doc Manager

* * *

It was dusk and the Tribe was gathered around a large fire, eating their dinner and telling stories. The sky was a mix of blues and purples and the stars were just beginning to appear. The nations were all clustered in their own little group, chatting about random things and laughing at Alfred who had burned his tongue. Ludwig looked over at Rachel who was sitting away from them, her face was shadowed by her hair and she seemed to be leaning as far away from him as possible.

"Sis's just a loner, is all." Ludwig was slightly startled when Buck plopped down on the ground beside him. He held a drumstick in his hand and held out a cup of water to the german. Ludwig thanked him and looked behind him at the main fire.

"You're lucky, you know."

He turned back to Buck in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You're lucky to have survived in such a large unarmed group for so long. Not only did you not become a Sinner, but you survived."

Ludwig nodded, they had lied and said that they had been there for three days.

"Yeah, you're lucky. Hundreds of years ago, you wouldn't have even lasted more than ten minutes cuz of the Nightwalkers. No chance, no chance."

* * *

Maria silently army crawled through some bushes on the outskirts of the clearing. Her eyes were locked on the pack of dogs that were sniffing about. The Tribe had trained them to alert them if they caught a scent, _amatuers..._

Maria had noticed several things about the inhabitants of the Island and how things had changed over the years. The Quiets, or Sinners apparently, were scarce and clumsy. Maria smirked. The few that she had found were traveling in groups, something she thought was incredibly stupid._ They've become weaker and careless, depending on others to protect them, they're not on alert and their fighting skills suck.._

She fetched a bullet from her jean pocket and carefully aimed it at one of the dimming fires. The dogs immediately scrambled towards the sound to investigate and Maria took this opportunity to bolt unseen through the center of the camp and into the trees on the other side of the clearing. _  
_

And there she was.

The intruder she'd been stalking for the past eight hours.

The woman had merely sat on the border of the clearing and watched the Tribe go about their daily business. Maria had perched motionless on a tree branch to make sure the bitch didn't try anything funny.

She wore a black tattered cloak and pushing back the hood she revealed blood red eyes and burgundy hair.

"I am Verona...Nice to meet you..."

* * *

Read and Review!


	14. Hanging out the clothes

**Disclaimer: Check previous chapters**

**Late chapter is late**

* * *

Maria sunk her teeth into flesh as if it were as viscous as jelly. Her victim let out something akin to a gurgled scream but she silenced him quickly with a snap of her jaws. There was a crack of vertebrae and the body went limp. She moved with the body as it sunk from its position resting on the tree trunk. She only removed her head from its place at the man's throat when his body sagged to the side and onto the dirt. She used her hands to violently tear away the blood stained green shirt he wore and quickly used it to bandaged the deep gash in her right calf.

She grit her teeth at the pain when she realized that the wound was more than two inches deep. She narrowed crimson eyes and spat on the ground in anger, _fucking bitch._

In an attempt to _enjoy _the dinner she had procured by waiting in a tree with a bleeding leg and a hungry belly for over an hour, she dragged the lukewarm corpse up the tree it had been previously resting on and into the rough branches above. She did so with much effort, the wound taking its toll on her 'tree climbing abilities'. Resting in a forked tree branch she hooked a leg around each branch and leaned back against the trunk. She pulled the body so that it draped over her lap with head and legs on either side and, pulling out a pocket knife from her victim's pocket, began to carve out chunks of meat from the man's back. As she feasted on her well aged meal, around forty-three she guessed, she thought back on her previous meeting with the vicious red head known as _Verona._

* * *

Maria's eyes narrowed, "Who the _fuck _are you?"

The woman had long red hair-a little shorter than Maria's. It was matted and tangled and _filthy. _Her skin was porcelain white, but was smeared with dirt and faint smudges of blood. She wore a dark green blouse that was torn in various places, as well as black trousers. Her black tattered cloak hung to her mid thighs. She wore no shoes.

"I am Verona...Nice to meet you..."

Her voice reminded Maria of a snake...

"You have yet to tell me _your _name, though..."

Maria smirked, "I don't tell my name to complete strangers. Anyway, why were you sneaking around the clearing?"

Verona gave a toothy grin and Maria saw that her left canine tooth was chipped.

"Why? To scout out my next meal, of course. Judging by your eye color...you are the same as me are you not? Why don't we team up? Join my group?"

She scoffed, "I don't _team up _with anyone. Teaming up just makes you dependent. Makes you weak. I'm not weak like you."

Verona frowned, "I've never met a Sinner who thinks like that...power in numbers you know?"

"That power is divided...I like keeping my power to myself, thank you very much. I'm surprised how much things have changed over the years...seems like the Quiets are becoming quite...pathetic..."

The woman cocked her head in confusion, "You are strange...who are you?"

"Stop asking questions and maybe you'll find out one day. You talk too much for someone whose entire survival depends on silence."

Verona blinked and then broke out into a cackle, "What one earth are you talking about? Staying quiet to hunt? That died out long ago! You really are bizarre! Who needs to ambush when you attack head on?! Who needs to stalk when you can use an army to get what you want?!"

Maria felt the color drain from her face, "An...army?"

Suddenly, before she react, the woman tossed a knife from beneath her cloak aiming at Maria's head. She was easily able to leap into the air and into the tree above her, but the knife managed to knick her in the calf and imbed itself into the tree behind her.

The woman cackled hysterically as she darted back into the trees.

"Good God...an army?"

* * *

Review or be eaten by Maria


	15. Then came a little blackbird

Disclaimer: check previous chapters

* * *

The boat.

The boat from two and a half years ago that they had abandoned on the beach.

They had found it.

Finally found their escape.

Ian and Maria had gone to retrieve the boat they had left on the bloody shore, only to find it missing. For two and a half years they had scoured the Island for their floating haven. They found it wedged into a fork of a tree-used to store the prey of another Quiet. They dealt with him quickly and dragged their prize back to their 'home'.

Ian was estatic.

Maria was not.

"Maria! What the hell are you talking about?! Don't you want to leave?! We've been looking for years for an escape-and now that we've found one, you don't want to leave?!"

Ian was yelling.

Maria was sobbing.

"B-But what will h-happen to us?! W-We'll still be Quiets-cannibals Ian! Cannibals! We'll have to kill people to eat! We'll be criminals! We'll be-!"

She struggled to understand what had happened. She had been standing, talking, crying. Now she was on the floor, on her back, head throbbing and face numb. She felt familiar copper liquid trickled down the back of her throat.

Ian had punched her square in the face.

* * *

She jolted from her dream with a gasp. It took her a moment to gather that she was still in her tree, her prey slowly decomposing in her lap. She made a face and shoved it off her; it made a dull thud when it hit the ground far below. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her Famine was satisfied and her leg still throbbed painfully, but other than that there was nothing else to think of.

She gingerly climbed down the tree and restrained a yelp when she dropped a few feet to the ground. She hobbled slowly back into the thickets, making sure to favor her left leg, draging the other behind her.

* * *

I know it's short-but there's a reason for that-anyway, it's kind of like an Omake

Yay! Almost done! 5 more chapters + epilogue! Read and Review! I wuv you! Review and Ian might just be in your bed tonight...:3


	16. And pecked off her nose

**Discla****imer: Not doing this again**

* * *

_Red was everywhere_

_..._

_Red was on the ground_

_..._

_Red was on his clothes_

_..._

_Red was in his mouth_

_..._

_Red didn't taste very good_

_..._

* * *

The Tribe was frozen in fear. Not even Rachel, who hated all outsiders and ran into danger like a hobby, moved from her spot by one of the huts. Ludwig didn't know whether to greet his sister or to pretend he didn't know her. He settled for the latter. Apparently, so did everyone else. He noticed that her right leg was poorly bandaged with a bloody shirt and there was blood splattered on her jean shorts and bare stomach. Somehow he knew it wasn't _her_ blood.

Buck was the first to react, he took a protective step in front of his sister and drew his dagger, "Leave unless you want to die."

Ludwig saw a corner of her lip curl and she stopped walking toward's them. She had strolled into the clearing casually and had made it just two steps before she was spotted.

Security was apparently quite good.

Except with Verona, of course.

...

Maybe security wasn't as good as the Tribe had hoped...

"What's this? No party? And here I thought you're supposed to be nice to celebrities..."

"What was that, bitch?" Rachel drew her lips back in a snarl.

Maria smiled in amusement, "I wish to make a deal."

Buck narrowed his eyes, "We don't make deals with monsters."

Ludwig noted that she seemed to stiffen at his words.

She directed her eyes to the camp as a whole, "I request a meeting with your leader."

There was a murmer and an indignant shout-but soon Fera made he was slowly to the front of the crowd.

Maria smiled softly and gave a deep bow, "Good evening, it is an honor to meet the head of a colony of valiant survivors." The old woman huffed, "Spare me the pleasantries and get down to the point. Why are you here? What deal do you have to offer?" Maria straighten up and cleared her throat, "I wish to trade information and offer my services. Give me entrance into your camp, and I'll offer protection and provide you with a particularly worrisome piece of info." Rachel cried out in protest, "As if we'd allow one of your kind in! Get out of here before we butcher you right here, right now!" Fera stopped her with a wrinkled arm. "Why should we trust that you'll protect us? What is this information that is _worrisome?"_

Maria cleared her throat once more, "Does anyone here know of a woman named Verona?"

The camp was quiet.

"She killed our parents."

Germany and the others turned back to look at Rachel who was standing by Bucky, both had their faces hidden by shadows, "Goddamn bitch."

Maria paused, "Yes, well. She's raising an army. She also snuck into your camp last night. She's a psycho, too. Bitch threw a knife at me."

Uproar.

"Lies! The dogs would have smelled her!"

"You're just one of her lackies!"

"Get out of here! Liar!"

"Monster!"

"Liar!"

"Monster!"

Monster

Monster

_Monster_

"SHUT UP!"

Germany had never been so angry in his life, here was his sister, the sister who had raised him from a baby TWICE-both on The Island and on Earth, the sister who gave up her humanity-her happiness-to keep him safe, the sister who considered him her son, she was his big sister, she was his protector, she was his mother.

"Maria's just trying to help all you idiots, and all your doing is drving her away! You're a bunch of bastards!"

Rachel screamed at him, "What the hell are you doing defending her!? She's a mon-"

"Did you say Maria?"

Everyone turned to Fera who was pale and wideeyed.

Maria grinned, "Ah~yes, yes I did. Why? Is something the matter." her voice was teasing.

"T-That's impossible! You-You can't be Maria-Maria the Malign!"

Maria grimaced, "Ah~I wish I wasn't-that name is horrible...but I am Maria...I've come back here to this Hell after five hundred years because of magic-don't ask me how-and I'm only here to help you. I mean no harm. Honest!"

Fera turned purple, "You're a monster-a murderer! You ravaged the entire Island and killed 98% of the populati-"

"I only killed my own kind. I left your's alone. Or was that lost in the years of oral translation? Was I the monster? Or was I your savior? Did no one speak of how I gave you years of peace? About how I left you a river of food to last you a decade? Was that all lost?!" Maria was livid, "DON'T GIVE ME THAT SHIT ABOUT ME BEING A MONSTER! YOU-" she pointed an accusing finger at the tribe, "ARE THE MONSTERS! COWARDS! YOU SIT HERE AND HIDE BEHIND YOUR DOGS AND TRAPS! GO OUT THERE AND FIGHT! CLAIM THIS GODDAMMED ISLAND FOR YOUR OWN! CHANGE THINGS! I CAME HERE EXPECTING THINGS TO HAVE CHANGED FOR THE BETTER-BUT WHAT DO I GET? AN ISLAND FULL OF COWARDS AND ROOKIES! THE SILENTS HERE ARE ANYTHING BUT! THEY'VE LOST THE SPARK THAT MADE US KILLERS! NOW WE'RE JUST A BUNCH OF MINDLESS KILLERS-AT LEAST BEFORE WE KNEW HOW TO HIDE AND HOW TO HUNT! DISGRACEFUL!"

Ludwig was scared of Maria-he'd never seen anyone so frightning when they were mad. He could feel her anger in the air-he could see why she was so feared-both on Earth and on the Island. She was deadly. Her eyes were blazing and her mouth was drawn back to show viscious teeth. She looked like a wolf about to strike.

"You know the stories! You know my power! You're fools to reject my offer of protection! You, the weak things that you are, are 5:1. It'd take five of you to take down just one of those little shits! I could take down five of them! At once! Rejecting my offer is suicide! Choose your fate! CHANGE!"

* * *

Read and Review-sorry for the delay


	17. There was such a commotion

Attention! Have I got it? All right, now...LET'S GET THE CARNAGE ROLLING!

* * *

And change they did.

By some miracle Fera agreed to Maria's terms and, after she and the nations explained everything, allowed them to stay. Most of The Tribe wasn't very trusting of her, but Maria could tell that some of them were truly grateful for extra protection. Night had fallen, and Ludwig and the others were safely tucked away in the caves while Fera and Maria sat alone at the fire out in the clearing.

"May I ask you a question, Fera?"

The old woman looked up from the basket she was weaving, the shadow from the fire casting dark shapes on her sullen cheek bones, "Yes, Maria?"

She cast her eyes to the fire, bangs sheilding her expression, "What exactly happened after I...disappeared?"

The elder sighed and flexed her aching fingers, "My great grandmother said that there was peace on The Island for a spell-acording the records...but after two hundred years there were several shipwrecks-the stranded turned to cannibalism and well...the cycle repeats itself. At the end of your "reign" there was not a single Sinner on this wretched piece of rock, only the sinless remained...I guess you weren't so horrid as the legend implies...you did us a favor, actually. It is said that after you disappeared, sharks began to appear in the river-giving the Sinless the opportunity to hunt...but after three centuries they went back to the ocean. Now _I_ have a question for _you_...why were there sharks in that river? They clearly are able to cross from salt water to fresh water...but they never traveled there before...why then?"

Maria was silent for a while, in which Fera took note that her knuckles had gone white from gripping her shorts tightly.

"My husband Ian and I threw our victims heads into the river...as a tribute...we never thought that sharks would be attracted to the scent of the blood...we thought they only hung around the reefs..."

"Ah yes...Ian...your story is quite intresting, but it lacks certain key elements...for example...how did you escape? I can perform magic as well, but never have I been able to leave this place...how did you do it?"

Maria scratched her head and clicked her tongue, "I-_ngh_!"

Fera whipped her head up at the sound of pain, "What's the matter?! Maria what's-!"

A needle about three inches long was lodged in the woman's wounded calf. There was a red feather tied at the end and Fera's eyes widened.

Maria's world was fading fast-the last thing she heard was the old woman's screaming her name and the sound of rustling trees.

_...d-dammit..._

* * *

_The sounds of the world around her were echoing and surprisingly painful to her ears. Even the soft breathing on the nape of her neck...wait, what?_

_Her eyes snapped open, and she ignored the burning feeling of bloodshot-too scared to care._

_"Shhh~Maria, you're safe...oh God, Maria...I'm so sorry-I didn't mean to do it! I swear!"_

_It came back to her in a tidal wave of emotions._

_"You...you punched me..."_

_Ian's face was smeared with tears, a sight she had seen only a few times._

_"Ian...you're rambling...just...just calm down and-ow!"_

_She yelped when the pain finally caught up with her, she was sure her nose was completely shattered due to the angle that he hit her..._

_But it wasn't._

_The pain came from her mouth...from the back of her mouth..._

_"Aw-shit! Fuck! Oh my God that fucking hurts!"_

_She, normally the one who kept both of their languages in check around Ludwig, was cursing up a storm when she spat out two of her molars with a scream._

_Ian looked like he was going to throw up and he paced back and forth nervously, waving his arms around as if he didn't know where to touch her._

_Maria's vision spun from the pain, more excruciating than when she broke her arm and the bone popped out. She stumbled foward with watering eyes, Ian catching her and cradling her trembling form to his chest. She could feel his own body shaking with sobs, but she was in too much pain to comfort him._

_The taste of copper from the liquid pooling in her mouth and running down the back of her throat didn't give her the giddy feeling it usually did._

_Most likely because it was her own._

* * *

"Wake up you useless bitch!"

Maria jolted awake in time to instinctively catch Rachel's punch mid-air. A look of fear flashed through the girl's eyes, only to be replaced with fury and she yanked her arm free of Maria's grasp.

"You let this happen! If you hadn't been so useless none of this would have happened!"

Saying she was confused would be an understatement, "What the hell are you talking about? What happened?"

She was in a cave. Ludwig and the other nations were there too, along with Buck. Fera was nowhere to be seen.

There were no doors.

She paled and memories crashed together.

She quickly fumbled for her leg and inspected the wound. Along with the gash inflicted by Verona, that she noted was getting infected, was a neatly sized hole amidst the swollen red flesh.

"You were hit with a poison dart-at least poisonous to your kind. The red feather is Verona's signature. They poisoned you by coating a sharpened bone with the blood of a bird..."

Maria groaned and Rachel's words and rested her back on the rock wall.

"How many of your people are dead?"

"They came by the dozens and locked us all up. It's been about eight hours since they attacked so they've probably only killed about five of us to eat. None of your friends, though."

Buck's words were comforting, but not enough so that her heart stopped pounding roughly against her ribcage.

"Is there a way out?"

Rachel scowled and flicked some dirt off her leg, "If there was we would have left you behind, stupid."

Buck frowned at his sister, "Stop that, she didn't know they had darts. Anyway, Maria, they threw us in a ditch and then slide a rock slab over it. We're in the caves, thankfully, so if we got out I could find the exit so we could escape."

Rachel snorted, "As if. We'd be killed the second we reached the surface. Besides...we have bigger problems that escaping...our biggest threat is sitting right next to us..."

"What are you talking about, sis?"

"Well, the bitch has to eat sometime, right? And they sure as hell ain't gonna feed us."

* * *

I just realized that in this whole fic I forgot to include Canada...wow


	18. That little Jenny Wren (Part 1)

Guess what?! This story is coming to a close! Now...the moment you've all been waiting for...IAN's FATE! What happened to Ian? How did Maria get off the Island? Will I ever stop talking like this? Tune in now to find out! :D

* * *

The silence was deafening. The only light came from dimly lit torches on the walls, scattering grotesque shadows across the cave floor. The nations' eyes were wide, while Maria's were hidden by her bangs. She curled her toes into the rock floor, ignoring the pain of the sharp edges digging into the tender flesh beneathe the nails.

Rachel scoffed, "That's right, stay quiet. Maybe if everyone feels bad for you, you can lull them into a false sense of security and then you'll EAT US!"

Her angry voice bounced off the cave walls and stung the captives' ears.

Maria bit her lip and cast her glance to the side.

Ludwig growled and felt something akin to fury bubble up in the pit of his chest.

"Shut up! Maria won't do that! My sister would never-"

"She's right, Luddy...if I don't eat something in the next few hours...I'm going to lose my mind and end up killing all of you...I'm...already feeling unstable...my stomach hurts..." Maria, always so strong and brave in the german's eyes, curled into a ball with her head between her knees.

Like a little girl.

Like a little girl stranded on an island.

Like a little girl stranded on an island and forced to become a monster.

Rachel gave a smug grin, "That's right, you're just like the rest of those sick beasts! They put us down here with you so you'd kill us and join their army! Because of you and your kind my parents were killed! Because of you and your kind my eye was destroyed! Because of you and your kind I've been living a hell all my life!" She was crying now, her lithe body racked with sobs, "You just a monster who know nothing about friendship! Nothing of happiness or family! You're a monster! A filthy animal! A blood thirsty demon! You know nothing of suffering!"

The room went quiet, the only sound came from Rachel's panting and the faint crackle of the torches.

"...I...know nothing of suffering...?"

Her voice was dangerously soft, her hands were clenched into fists at her side. Rachel looked up in mild shock, a chill settling in the cramped room. Ludwig watched as his sister's mouth stretched into a twisted smile. Her eyes were staring at Rachel, wide and crazed.

"I know nothing of suffering?"

Louder.

_"I know nothing of suffering!?"_

Louder.

"I KNOW NOTHING OF SUFFERING!?"

Rachel was suddenly slammed against the rock wall, Maria effectively pinning her by her throat. The nations and Buck were too stunned to move. Rachel struggled against the other woman's hold, but Maria was infinetly stronger. Her chest was heaving and her snowy locks puffed out like an angry cat. Her teeth were bared and her nostrils flared with fury.

"You dare accuse me of not knowing suffering? _Me_? You may have lost your family and have had live on this Island, but things have been handed to you on a silver platter your whole life! The Tribe taught you how to hunt and fight! You have a shelter over your head and security to keep you calm! You were not thrown into this world with no one to save you but yourself! You did not have to live everyday in constand fear of death! You did not have to raise a child and give up your everything to keep him safe! You did not have to kill! You did not go to bed every night with the chance that you wouldn't wake up the next morning! You did not-you did not..." Maria shook with sobs, her lower lip trembling as tears cascaded down her flushed face.

"You did not have to kill your husband with your own hands..."

* * *

Ian was not the only one who was changing...

Maria was always angry, she and Ian got into arguments and fought constantly-both physically and verbally. They would always apologize afterwards...always cry themselves to sleep in each other's arms...but they continued nonetheless. They at least had enough control to leave Ludwig out of their confrontations, determined to save him from seeing his "siblings" destroy each other.

They knew the other didn't mean it.

They knew that it was The Famine taking over.

They knew where they were headed if it continued.

But they tried to ignore it...not wanting to face the inevitable.

Their blatant insanity got to the point where they had to seperate Ludwig from themselves. Ian tethered the boat to a rock in a calmer part of the river and set up supplies.

But Maria was adament on staying.

So Ian did this in secret.

It had been a day since either of them had anything to eat, their food source of Quiets had finally run out.

All that remained were the Innocent.

Who had all fled to the other side of the Island, too far and too secluded for the duo to make it there without reaching their limit.

They were starving.

They were dying.

That night, when Ludwig was fast asleep in the cave, right after an argument with Maria, Ian went outside to calm down.

The brunette sighed and ran a calloused hand through unruly locks. The moon was full and the night sky was unsually clear, the stars bright and numerous. A sad smile crossed his lips,_ when Maria and I were back on the ship we used to lay on the deck and watch the stars...we haven't done that in so long...I should go apologize to Maria and bring her out her to enjoy them...I'm sure she'll like that..._

He was just about to turn around and head back to the cave when he heard someone breathing heavily behind him. He looked down at his feet, into a puddle that gave him a reflection of who was behind him.

He closed his eyes with a deep breath, and opened them with a sad smile.

"Do it...Maria...do it and save Ludwig and yourself."

His wife stood behind him with her femur club in her hands, ready to strike. Her hair was wild and her mouth was twisted into a crazy grin that threatened to split her face in two. Her eyes were wide and devoid of reason.

The eyes of an animal.

A _hungry_ animal.

"I'm not going to ask why...why now of all times...only that you do it quick...and that you always remember..."

She raised the club high with a maniacle grin.

"...that I will _always_ love you..."

And brought it down.

* * *

I think I'll break this into two parts...so there will be 21 chapters and an epilogue instead of 20


	19. That little Jenny Wren (Part 2)

Alright you guys...I legit cried while writing this, thank GOD I was at home...:C

Here you go: Part 2!

The Song to listen to is "Louder than Thunder" by Devil Wears Prada

**Can I get some more reviews? It's kinda depressing to upload a new chapter and have no one respond...**

* * *

Reality hit her like an avalanche. She dropped her bloody weapon to the floor, letting it sink into the mud without a care. With trembleing hands and shallow breaths she ghosted her fingertips over the gaping wound in the back of her husband's head. She sunk to her knees in shock and examined the damage. The back of his skull had been smashed in, shards of bone shining white in the moonlight between now-burgundy locks. The pungent smell of copper choked the air, leaving a sickening taste on her tongue that she used to enjoy. The man's skin was tuning a pasty gray and his face was pressed to the side as he lay on his stomach.

He had died with a smile.

He was dead

...

He was dead

...

Ian was dead

...

Maria had killed him

...

She looked over at the puddle and took in her own reflection. Her hair, face, and clothes were covered in blood

...

Blood

...

His blood

...

Ian's blood

...

A scream

...

**It took her a moment to realize that it was her own**

The world didn't make sense any more. The stars were on the ground and the mud was in the air. No words could possibly describe what she felt. Tugging at her hair hard enough to yank out clumps and shrieking incoherent words. Her voice was hoarse but she kept screaming anyway.

...

She didn't care.

...

Nothing made sense.

...

Nothing matter if Ian was gone.

...

She dug her nails into the mud and flung rocks into the darkness between the trees. She thrashed on the ground until she was covered in dirt. She didn't care that she was throwing her very first tantrum. Sobbing shrieks filled the air and she couldn't even tell how loud she was due to the roar of blood in her ears.

...

Her lover was dead.

...

_Ian_ was dead.

...

Never again...

...

He would never smile at her.

...

He would never tell her stories.

...

He would never kiss her.

...

He would never hug her.

...

He would never dry her tears.

...

He would never make her laugh.

...

He would never play another game with Ludwig.

...

He would never tell her he loved her.

...

He would never

...

He would

...

He

...

"Big sister?"

Her eyes snapped open with a strangled gasp and she bolted upright from her fetal position beside her husband's corpse. Her vision was tilted, but she could clearly see the small form of Ludwig standing not too far deep into the trees.

He was covered in blood.

Ian's blood.

Her mouth worked soundlessly for an excuse, for an explanation for why "big brother" wasn't moving, why "big sister" was covered in blood, and why something was oozing out of the hole in his head and-

The toddler walked over to his caretaker silently and placed a chubby hand on her tear-stained cheek.

"It's okay big sister," his voice was bright and innocent, "everything's gonna be okay."

She searched the boy's face, so cheerful and ignorant, and felt fresh tears clog her throat.

"_Oh Luddy_."

She suddenly pulled the child into a bear hug and sobbed violently into his shoulder.

"Big sister, why are you crying? Where's big brother?"

Knowing that Ludwig couldn't identify Ian due to the amount of disfiguration only made her sob harder into his brown shirt.

* * *

She shooed Ludwig off to the boat and wrapped Ian's cold body in a brown cloth. Maria took her cursed bundle back into the cave and into their room, laying him down in the bed and tucking him in as one would a child.

"This way...this way you're only sleeping...Ian...bye bye Ian...I'll be here when you wake up..."

Denial, she was in denial...

But she couldn't care less.

Snatching up what she could, a few blankets and some chunks of cooked meat that she had gotten from-she couldn't even bring herself to realize what she was eating...it hurt too much...

Bonepickers had been harvested and supplies were gathered...they were ready to leave...

Leave this cursed Hell...

This cursed Hell called The Island...

The rest of the trip was a blur, though she knew that she had managed to kick off the boat from its tether and guide it to the ocean. She didn't look back for a "final glance".

She couldn't bear to look at what she had left behind.

_Who_ she had left behind.

As the water slapped against the wooden sides of the boat and Ludwig looked up at her with watering blue eyes that were clearly asking where "big brother" was...Maria could only keep watch for rocks and paddle the oar.

She was in to much shock to do anything else.

She hurt...

Her heart hurt...

Miles, floating for miles...

The skies stayed just as cloudly as over The Island, and the waters just as dark and choppy.

Then white.

Then silence.

Then nothing.

Then...home...

* * *

Read and Review! Did you cry? Tell me what you think!


	20. Flew down into the garden (Part 1)

I'm SOOOO sorry for the delay! I went to New York for christmas and new year's so I had no wifi!

Anyway-this is the moment you've (hopefully) all been waiting for!

* * *

The cave was silent for Maria's hiccuping sobs. She pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes and stepped back from Rachel to return to her slumped spot on the wall. Ludwig forgot how to breath.

"You...killed Ian?"

Maria curled her toes and wiped at her nose furiously.

"What do you mean you saw a white light?"

Maria shrugged at Buck's words, "I don't know, really. One moment we were floating away from The Island and then we were suddenly in the middle of a lake in Germany. Germania found us and after I told him our story he took us in...I never aged...but Ludwig did."

"But...we played together as children..."

Hungary was on the verge of tears.

"Germania used a spell to make me look younger...but I was always this age...I don;t know why Ludwig aged and I stopped...it just happened..."

"Maria?"

She looked up at Germany with a sniff, "Y-Yeah?"

Ludwig bit his lip and looked at the cracking torch flame.

"I...remember that night...the night you killed Ian..."

"...Trauma is usually able to be remembered even at that age...all of it or just parts?"

"Just...the blood..."

"Ah~"

"Sorry."

Buck choked on his spit and turned to his sister in disbelief, "What did you just say?!"

Her bangs covered her eyes, "Sorry...I'm sorry 'bout what I said..."

Maria gave a warm smile, "It's alright...but thank you."

A comfortable silence...

"That bundle...the one from the cave...that was Ian wasn't it...? Maria averted her eyes and bit her lip.

"Yes...I needed to bury him..."

Buck scratched his head, "This still leaves us with the problem of getting out of here..."

A pause.

"I can starve myself...it'll take about another two hours for me to lose it like I did with Ian...I should be able to control myself a bit if I really concentrate...just enough to move the slab and kill the guards...then I'll go save the rest..."

"You could mess it up and eat us all!"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

* * *

The next two hours were the scariest two hours of Ludwig's life.

With every minute, Maria's face grew paler and her eyes a little less...intelligent. Her nails on her hands had grown longer and sharper and her canine teeth had turned into fangs...

A monster seemed to be a fitting word to describe her.

But Maria was clearly trying to keep her hunger under control. She sat on her legs and hands and bit a stick to keep herself occupied. Her eyes were screwed shut and she was trembling.

But they were safe.

...

Until China cut his hand on a rock.

* * *

I'm gunna post two chapters today just to make you all happy!


	21. Flew down into the garden (Part 2)

The song to listen to during this chapter is **"I Can't Wait" by Celldweller.**

* * *

Maria's eyes snapped open at the scent of fresh blood.

Russia immediately stopped fumbling with bandaging his "He's really my lover he just won't admit it"'s hand and everyone stared at the cannibal in fear. She made jerking movements as she lifted her head and brought her legs and hands out from under her. She sniffed the air for a terrifying moment...

And licked her lips...

Suddenly, like the animal she had become (:I Three Days Grace cameo), she made a gravity defying crawl _up the wall_ and, hooking her feet into grooves in the rock walls, pushed up.

_Hard._

The slab flew out of sight and fell somewhere with a loud crash.

The other occupants could only watch with slack jaws as the white haired _creature_ scuttled out of the hole and into the dimly lit darkness of the cave and out of view.

A shout.

...

A scream.

...

Suddenly something _wet and rope-like_ fell into the cave.

...

_Intestines._

A head popped in and maria gave a sharp toothed grin like a child with a toy that, combined with her blood covered appearance, was anything but reassuring.

Needless to say, no one wanted to be the first to climb up.

* * *

"Do you think that she's eaten those damn Tribals yet?" A blonde man asked his friend, "Don't be stupid Karsh! Of course she has! That white haired bitch is one of us remember? No way she could go this long without-!"

A clawed hand punched through the man's back and held his beating heart in front of his palling face. Maria crushed it in her fist in an explosion of red, retracted her hand, and slammed the blonde's head into the wall, all in a single fluid motion. His cranium erupted, sending brains and blood cascading down the rocks. A wicked smile and she ran her tongue languidly along the jagged wall, shivering in delight at the copper taste that coated her tongue.

But is wasn't enough.

She needed _more._

Putting parkour to shame, she leapt from wall to wall at a dizzying speed. The tunnels were lit by sparse torches; she passed them at such a speed that they extinguished in her wake.

Guards were more prevalent, however.

Not that that was a _bad thing_, of course.

She silenced their screams before the sound even leapt from their throats.

She was so much faster.

So much smarter.

So much deadlier.

So much_ quieter._

Maria made easy work of any guards, pausing only to push away stones to free the captives. Her mind was a jumble of instructions, thought process broken down into basic commands.

Free the prisoners.

Kill everyone else.

Baser instincts guided her through narrow passages she might have missed, and her nerves had blocked off the pain coming from her shredded feet. Her eyes were wild and her tongue lolled out the corner of her mouth. Drool rolled down her chin, but she didn't bother wiping it away.

Too hungry

Too hungry

_Too thirsty_

She sunk her teeth into a woman's neck and drank her blood frantically. Her eyes almost rolled into the back of her head from the pleasure. She forced herself to refrain from actually eating her victims, though. She had to stay like this-continue hunting like a wild animal, with Famine clawing at her insides. It was painful, unbearably so, but if she gave in now she would be letting everyone down.

Letting Ludwig down.

And she would rather die than let that happen.

...

She could hear the sound of wind and could smell the reek of rotting flesh.

Outside was nearby...

Straining her ears she managed to catch the voice of Verona...and several others.

A dozen or so Quiets were chatting in the open air, unaware that _over a hundred dead_ lay inside.

Unaware of the demon that lurked in the shadows.

_The nasty in the night._

The times may have changed, secrets swapped and techniques scrapped...but they were playing _her_ game now.

A feral grin crept its way onto her face.

They were on _her_ island.

She practically _owned it_ all those years ago.

This was her _home._

Her _territory._

Time to evict the rats.

* * *

When the nations got to the mouth of the cave, the battle was already over.

Verona gasped and flung her knife at her assailant. It hung in the air a moment, before sinking into Maria's right shoulder.

She kept running.

Verona didn't even have time to scream before Maria sunk her teeth into the redhead's neck and ripped a lout a large chunk of her throat. Blood squirted out in an arc and drenched the whitette in glorious crimson. The corpse slumped to the ground and Maria staggered backwards as if she had been struck. The nations paled when a grin appeared through her bloodied appearance and crazed eyes locked onto a certain blonde.

She lunged for Ludwig.

* * *

Heheh...I'm such an evil bitch


	22. And put it back again (Part 1)

Ladies and gentlemen! The moment you've all been waiting for! This is the third to last chapter (two more after this and then an epilogue)! I'm sorry this fic is ending-it's been so much fun to write! But alas, all good things must come to an end...BUT NOT YET! Read and immerse yourself in the world of The Island...but remember not to lose yourself along the way...

**Song to listen to is "To Build a Home" By The Cinematic Orchestra**

* * *

Sharp teeth sunk deep into the warm flesh of an arm.

Maria's mind was a jumble of instincts, commands, and impulses that she could no longer control. She had tried, but she still could not truly beat Famine. It had been taking it's sweet time in catching up to her fully, but now that it had, it wasn't going to let go until it was satisfied. Blood gushed passed fangs and slipped down into the monster's stomach. A sickening crunch as jaws clamped down harder on the appendage. Flesh pulled from bone and fed the beast within Maria.

"This isn't you...Maria."

... (_start the song now_)...

Crimson eyes widened and her world screeched to a halt. Mouth slowly unlatching from it's hold, Maria slowly pulled away. Blood dripped from her scarlet lips and dripped down her chin. Rain began to patter the ground softly, thunder rolling in the distance. Maria held her breath and looked at the owner of the arm she had previously been biting.

...

Tan skin.

...

Brown tossed hair.

...

Tender red eyes.

...

A gentle smile full of love.

...

It was her Ian.

...

"N-No! No...N-No y-you're not real!"

Maria jerked away from the vision of her lover, falling back into the mud. Her heart thudded wildly in her chest, mind swimming and words failing.

"Maria..."

His voice was deep and warm...just like she remembered. Ian knelt down before her, rain making his hair fall over his face like when he was a child. Boyish features returned, a smile so bright and sincere that it hurt to look it. It made her chest ache...

Her lower lip trembled when he said her name, saying it like an endearment instead of an actual name, just like he used to. Her eyes began to blur with tears that soon began to mix with the blood and rain. Her voice trembled and cracked, her tone like that of a child's.

"N-Not real...not r-real...cruel...t-this is cruel...w-wearing that face...n-not fair..."

Strong arms reached and bridged the small between them. Calloused hands caressed her cheeks, smearing blood and tears. Unconsciously leaning into that warmth, she let her vermillion eyes slid shut.

It felt so real.

"Maria...Maria please look at me..."

And she did.

Red met red, strength met teary hope, and comfort met hurt.

He brushed the unshed tears from her eyes and rested his forehead against hers. She bit her lip with a whimper, "A-Are you just another dream? Another h-horrible illusion that'll be gone when I wake?"

A warm smile that took her breath away.

"No, Maria...I am very real."

With trembling movements she slowly peeked behind him, and saw that the nations were staring at them, at Ian. Ludwig had fallen backwards, probably when she had lunged at him, and was being clung to by Felicia. Ludwig looked like he was on the verge of tears.

She began to wail.

She clung to Ian with as much force she could muster, gripping onto to his clothes as if fearing that he might fade from her grasp. She was past rational thought, she couldn't care less how he got there, she could only understand that he was there and he was real and Ian was alive. Fat tears ran down pale cheeks and she pressed an open-mouth sobbed against her lover's brown shirt. A warm hand came up to stroke her hair as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

Wordless cries and soothing words floated under the rain, Maria's hellish world beginning to brighten. They held each other in the rain, letting the water wash away the sorrow of hundreds of years of separation.

He was here.

Ian was alive.

Her Ian had come back to her.

* * *

I thought I'd give you guys a little treat for being so patient, also tomorrow I start finals and I needed a break from studying...too bad now I have a bit of a headache from crying...


	23. And put it back again (Part 2)

Thank you everyone for reading this story and joining Maria on her adventure! This is the last official chapter-the next one is the epilogue and then it's over. I'm sorry that it's ending, but all good things must come to an end.

* * *

The spell had been simple, so had been finding the body. Maria had buried Ian under the hundred foot tall tree that they climbed in their youth. A name and the phrase "My Dearest Darling" carved in the old wood served as a makeshift tombstone. Old withered hands had dug away the fresh dirt to reach the dark green and brown stictched sheets. Fera made quick work of lifting the bones out one by one and laying them down in correct anatomical position. An ancient diagram drawn in the dirt with a stick and a pinprick of her finger, and the spell was ready. Fera gave a silent pray for her tribe's safety and spoke the incantation.

A life for a life.

Ian awoke lying on the ground on his back, stark naked. Confused and sore, the man fetch a set of male clothes that had been laid out next to him...

There was a note beside the dark blue clothes, he picked it up with calloused hands and began to read.

_I assume that your name is Ian, correct? My name is Fera and I am the leader of The Tribe, a community of survivors who refuse to turn into monster. Unfortunately, I do not trust you-however you are the Tribe's last hope. An army of your kind has ambushed my people. I request your services._

_Now, I must inform you of something that might come of a shock._

_Ian, you have been dead for over five hundred years. I don't know how you'll deal with this information, but that is none of my concern. Maria, your wife, is alive and well. Do not ask me how she has survived for this long, for I do not know all the details. She is in danger, as well as Ludwig and his friends. _

_Save the Tribe and save your wife._

_Perhaps from each other._

_Do not let my sacrifice be in vain._

_~Fera_

* * *

Maria and Ian sat on the shore of The Island, Maria resting her head on her husband's shoulder, eyes closed and half asleep. She had missed the feeling of his large hand on her own, caressing her fears away. He spoke softly so that the wind would carry his voice to only her ears, letting them have their privacy. Finger enterlaced and smiles on their faces, Maria told Ian stories of her time as Prussia while he listened with warm eyes. They were lost in their own little world, having seperated from Ludwig and the others back at The Tribe.

The nations said goodbye to Rachel, the new leader, and Buck. Rachel was surprisingly understanding when she learned about Fera's sacrifice, as was her brother. Norway and England had enough time and found enough supplies for a transportation spell and everything was ready to go.

Ludwig paused in front of the portal. They had set it up on the beach so that would walk down to the water and would emerge back into Germany's house through the black and green tear in space. The other nations had gone through, only Ian and Maria remained behind, wanting to savor their last moment on The Island.

He looked back at the couple who he now recognized as his family, both his mother and father and his sister and brother. They were his everything. He would no longer have to be alone.

He was happy for Maria, happy that she was able to finally smile a real smile again. She gave Ian's hand a small squeeze and the couple turned to face Ludwig.

The blonde smiled, "Are you ready to go home now?"

Ian couldn't help but shoot his lover a grin, "Seems we've got some catching up to do when we get back."

Maria smiled, "Yes...yes we do..."

* * *

Thank you everyone for being so supportive, please review!


	24. Epilogue

Now, a round of applause for THE EPILOGUE!

* * *

Ludwig had never been happier.

His bizarre little "family" was finally reunited and his life was falling into place. Ian and Maria bought their own house, right next to Ludwig's. He and Felicia were finally going out. Naturally, Ian had no idea what the hell _anything _was. Being born on a boat and stranded on an island full of cannibals didn't help with learning what a TV or microwave were. He had been banned from the stove-having set the kitchen on fire more than once, and had yet to figure out how to use a shower. Ian was also apparently a nation-or something like it. While he wasn't assigned a country, he healed incredibly fast and was apparently impervious to and Ian continued to receive "donations" from hospitals and soon the nations began to fall back into routine.

Four months into their return, Maria gave the good news. Well-it was more like Felicia found the pregnancy test in the trashcan and decided to start screaming it out to the neighborhood the second she found it. Maria had blushed furiously and Ian had grinned like the proud papa he soon would be. While the couple had been worried about whether or not their child would inherit their, well, cannibalistic tendencies-Maria was adamant that they keep the baby just the same.

Soon afterwards, Ian proposed to Maria.

The whitette had been so happy she had started crying...and then tackled him into a lake. Felicia took it upon herself to plan the whole ceremony. The wedding was quaint and private, exactly what the couple had wanted. Maria had looked gorgeous in her lace gown, small baby bump clearly visible. Elizabeta had been her Maid of Honor, Francis and Antonio had convinced her to let them both walk her down the isle, Roderick insisted on playing the piano, and Ludwig had been the Best Man.

The next eight months passed with the normal antics of Prussia and the surprisingly goofy Ian and in the end a bubbling baby boy was born with Maria's golden hair...and Ian's dark brown eyes.

They named him Aldrich, noble friend, and life went on.

* * *

Thank you for your wonderful reviews and support! Eternal thanks to all! I love you! Check out my other work! I know it's short, but it's supposed to just tie everything together.


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